Boulder Star Coral (Montastrea faveolata) setting gamete bundles prior to spawning (photo by P. Gillet)
Every August, several nights after the full moon, Boulder Corals along the Florida Keys reef tract synchronize their reproductive efforts in an amazing coral spawning event. Dr. Mary Alice Coffroth, professor at SUNY Buffalo, was on hand to capture the event for on-going projects exploring the many facets of coral-algal symbiosis.
An army of grad students, divers and snorkelers from Buffalo as well as volunteers from south Florida institutions, took to the water to arrange collection tents over promising colonies near Alligator Reef as dusk approached, then returned to the boat to wait. Teams of divers splashed again at 11:00pm to gather cupfuls of the coral spawn, handing them off to snorkelers who ferried them back to the boat. Weather was a bit rough but the team was fearless!
Returning to the dock at 2:00am, the army worked around the clock at KML's wet lab facility to carefully rear the developing coral larvae. Spawning was so successful at the Middle Keys site this year, that the BURR Team
(Buffalo Undersea Reef Research) had plenty to share with fellow scientists in the Upper and Lower Keys.
The new coral recruits were allowed to settle on ceramic tiles in their special Kreisells at the wet lab and then placed back out on the reef to follow development. Dr. Coffroth's team will periodically return to KML to sample the new recruits on the tiles to asses the coral/algal symbiosis between near-shore and off-shore sites.
