Record Details

Fertilisation success, embryo condition, and larvae survival in spawning corals following wind-driven hydrodynamic stress

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Title Fertilisation success, embryo condition, and larvae survival in spawning corals following wind-driven hydrodynamic stress
 
Creator Elizabeth Buccheri
 
Subject Conservation and biodiversity
Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
 
Description The dataset contains information about the influence of surface winds of varying intensities on gamete interactions, fertilisation success, embryo condition, and larval survival for four species of spawning corals on the Great Barrier Reef: Acropora cf. tenuis, A. cf. millepora, Platygyra cf. daedalea (Magnetic Island, central GBR) and A. spathulata (Heron Island, southern GBR).
Wind speeds in areas surrounding each experimental location were extracted from historical records on spawning nights using the Coral Spawning Database and AIMS historical weather monitoring data. Four relevant wind speeds, ranging from 4-15 knot winds in situ, were downscaled to the dimensions of experimental flume chambers. Two fans with ducting were fashioned to either end of each recirculating flume chamber to replicate each wind treatment in each tank.
Experimental preparation commenced directly after coral spawning for each species. Egg-sperm bundles from four individuals per species were collected and kept intact (where possible). Bundles from each individual were pipetted into one corner of each flume tank, so each tank had four distinct individuals. Fans were then turned on directly after that to allow bundles to break and gametes to mix. GoPro videos were taken every 30 mins, starting ~5-15 minutes after trials commenced. Samples (n=25-50 eggs) were collected from each corner of each flume tank every 30 minutes for 3 hours. Samples were rinsed with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and filtered seawater (FSW) to deactivate and remove sperm, then were fixed with a buffered formalin solution ~2 hours later.
Following 3 hours of experimentation, a subset of the remaining embryos from the lowest and highest wind treatments were collected and sorted into respective 6-well plates based on conditional categories: fertilised, damaged, deformed, and fragmented (with and without intact cell divisions). Embryos were reared for ~6 days, with water changes and survival counts being completed daily.
Fixed samples from each treatment were scored in the days following spawning using a dissecting microscope. The six conditional categories were distinguished from one another using a consistent scoring rubric. Embryos were classified as fertilised if they were undergoing normal cell division with no apparent disturbances. Embryos were classed as damaged if there was apparent serious harm like large rips or pulls in the cellular tissue, and deformed if they exhibited less serious injuries like uneven cleavage. Fragments with divisions were classified as such if they were smaller than a normal embryo for their species (XX um range?) and exhibited signs of breakage, while still having 2 or 3 cleaved cells intact. Fragments without divisions fell within that size range but were only an individual segment of a cleaved cell. Unfertilised eggs were classified if they were still showing no signs of fertilisation (i.e. no cleavage) and were also not showing signs of damage, deformity or fragmentation.

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Publisher CSIRO
 
Contributor Ananth Wuppukondur
Gerard Ricardo
Russ Babcock
Peter Mumby
Christopher Doropoulos
 
Date 2023-08-29
 
Type —
 
Format —
 
Identifier csiro:60091
 
Language —
 
Coverage —
 
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