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Spatiotemporal variability in recruitment around Iriomote Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan: implications for dispersal of spawning corals

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Abstract

Spatiotemporal recruitment patterns of scleractinian corals were investigated around Iriomote Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, in relation to adult coral cover in 2005 and 2006. Although almost all corals were broadcasting spawners, the relationship between recruitment and adult coral cover differed among coral families (Acroporidae, Poritidae, and Pocilloporidae), likely due to differences in embryonic development time. For spawning pocilloporid corals, whose larvae develop relatively more rapidly, recruitment was higher at sites where adult coral cover was higher. In contrast, recruitment was not related to adult coral cover in acroporid and poritid corals, whose embryonic development times were relatively slow. Moreover, recruitment of acroporid corals varied between years, and recruitment was greater at leeward compared to windward reefs for a few days after spawning. These results suggest that embryonic development time and wind-driven surface currents affect larval dispersal and subsequent recruitment patterns at a local scale. Based on embryonic development time, some spawning corals are more likely to have higher rates of self-seeding than others. Our results predict that among spawning corals, local populations of acroporid and poritid corals, whose larvae potentially disperse over long distances and recruit in neighboring reefs, are more resilient to local disturbances than those of pocilloporid corals, whose recruitment relies upon local stock.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Okinawa Research Center of Tokai University and the Iriomote Station of the University of the Ryukyus for permitting the use of their facilities. This study was supported in part by the twenty-first Century COE program of the University of the Ryukyus, the Iriomote Project of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in 2005, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant-In-Aid Nos. 18651112 and 21570021 to K.S.).

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  1. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa, 905-0277, Japan

    Masako Nakamura & Kazuhiko Sakai

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  1. Masako Nakamura
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  2. Kazuhiko Sakai
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Correspondence to Masako Nakamura.

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Communicated by T. L. Goulet.

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Nakamura, M., Sakai, K. Spatiotemporal variability in recruitment around Iriomote Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan: implications for dispersal of spawning corals. Mar Biol 157, 801–810 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1363-2

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