Synchronized swimming is crucial!
Scientists still don’t know how the adult corals manage to release their gametes exactly at the same time, but this “synchronized swimming” is crucial, because the gametes of most coral species have a shelf life of only a few hours.
Spectacular phenomenon
Depending on the lunar cycle and water temperature, at certain times coral reefs release their eggs and sperm, so-called gametes, in the Caribbean Sea around us. This phenomenon is called “coral spawning” in English and is clearly visible to us underwater as a kind of “blizzard” of billions of colored flakes.
Synchronized swimming is crucial
Scientists still don’t know how the adult corals manage to release their gametes exactly at the same time, but this “synchronized swimming” is crucial, because the gametes of most coral species have a shelf life of only a few hours. That huge snowstorm increases the chance of fertilization.
Because of the fatty substances called lipids they carry, the gametes slowly rise to the surface of the water, where the fertilization process begins.
New coral colony
When a coral egg and sperm cell merge into an embryo, it first develops into a coral larva, or planula. The planulae float in the ocean, sometimes for days or even weeks, before fluttering to the bottom. There, the collection can then grow into a new coral colony, with the enormous speed of about 0.4 centimeters per year… That is why it is so important that every diver stays away from the coral with his fingers (or flippers!): The growth and so the recovery takes so long!
Predictions
Would you like to experience the amazing spectacle of coral spawning yourself? The nature organization STINAPA on Bonaire has made predictions for the times when the event would be seen.
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