Materials and Methods Ways to Collect Coral Larvae 1. Collect Gametes during Spawning Sites -Kapoho -Collected samples observed in lab -HIMB (Coconut Island, Oahu) 2. Settlement Tiles -Newly settled larvae Sites -Kapoho -Leleiwi, Hilo Bay 3. Plankton tows Site -Leleiwi, Hilo Bay Fixing processes: Recently spawned coral larvae -preserved in paraformaldehyde solution Plankton tows -Half of sample preserved in glutaraldehyde solution for plankton counts -Remaining half preserved in paraformaldehyde solution for FISH analysis Discussion and conclusions Coral Spawning -Times vary depending on location -Corals may not have finished spawning for the year Collection -A combination of different methods are needed to successfully collect coral larvae Plankton Tows -No sampling at night so data is skewed -The net was not big enough and the kayak was not moving fast enough to collect all possible plankton types. -Spawning in area was not confirmed and density of larvae may have been low. In the future -Test the molecular tag on collected samples. -Study coral larvae ecology. -Study genetic migration among coral colonies. Acknowledgements National Science Foundation (NSF) - Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Pacific Internships Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH) Dr. Misaki Takabayashi Lisa Adams Lauren Pagarigan Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology (HIMB) Dr. Evelyn Cox Alu Lik’e Internship Program Kui’ule University of Queensland Dr. Selina Ward Introduction Corals are the building blocks of tropical and subtropical shallow-water reefs, a very important habitat in the ocean ecosystem. The dispersal of larvae over distances facilitates genetic mixing between populations of coral reef organisms, hence enhancing genetic diversity within populations. To understand the genetic flow among coral colonies more needs to be known about coral larvae and larval ecology. The larvae are part of the planktonic community and their dispersal is controlled by the ocean (Oliver et. al. 1991). To understand Hawaiian coral ecology work was and is currently being conducted on obtaining spawning data for the Big Island, obtaining preliminary data on larval ecology, and developing a molecular tagging method Reproductive Ecology of Hawaiian Corals Kathy Seiber Tyler Takeashita June-August 2005 National Science Foundation-Research Experience for Undergraduates University of Hawaii at Hilo Dr. Misaki Takabayashi Sharon Ziegler-Chong Newly settled polyp Planula larvae Adult colony spawning Montipora patula Montipora capitata Hilo Bay Kapoho Results 1.Coral Larvae -Spawning times that were previously known on other islands were accurate for Montipora flabellata during the June full moon and accurate for M. capitata and M. patula during the July full moon on the Island of Hawaii. There was not any reported spawning of Pavona varians, Porites compressa, and P. lobata during the predicted times on Hawaii. 2.Settlement Tiles -Wait for 3 months for results 3. Plankton Counts -Three Way ANOVA Results Statistical test showed that the time of day and before and after spawning did not affect the plankton abundance but the abundance of plankton varied based on the type with phytoplankton having the highest abundance. Leleiwi, Hilo BayKapohoHawaii Institute of Marine Biology Coconut Island, Oahu Pavona varians Porites compressa Porites lobata Settlement Tile Trees Fungia Scutaria Cnidarian Larvae Copepods Mollusks Crustacean Larvae Phytoplankton © Gulko, Coral Reef Ecology