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Sampling Sites for Balanophyllia Samples and Example Specimens. a B. malouinensis samples were collected using trawls and dredges on Burdwood Bank on three separate cruises in May 2006 on the RV Lawrence M. Gould, and April 2008 and May 2011 on the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer. Data projected in EPSG 22194, overlaid with EPSG 4326 (WGS ’84) grid. B. malouinensis specimens, both alone (b) and attached (white arrow) to a larger Flabellum curvatum (c). Photo courtesy of Dann Blackwood, taken on cruise NBP08-03. Figure made in QGIS
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Deep-sea scleractinian cup corals are prominent members of Southern Ocean megabenthic communities, though little is known about their life history. This study used paraffin histology and scanning electron microscopy to characterize the reproduction of the scleractinian coral Balanophyllia malouinensis (Squires, 1961) from Burdwood Bank in the Drake...
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Scleractinian corals feature both sessile and mobile stages and diverse modes of development. In some cases, development can be reversed. Examples include polyp detachment in response to environmental stress (bail-out or polyp expulsion) and reverse metamorphosis, where juveniles detach from the primary skeleton and revert to the mobile stage. Here...
Citations
... building stony corals (Madrepora oculata Linnaeus, 1758; Solenosmilia variabilis Duncan, 1873; Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758); and Enallopsammia rostrata (Pourtalès, 1878)), and one pennatulacean Anthoptilum murrayi Kölliker, 1880 have been studied (Pires et al. 2009(Pires et al. , 2014. In Argentina, only one study has been conducted on a black coral (Dendrobathypathes grandis) in northern Argentina (Lauretta and Penchaszadeh 2017), and one on a solitary stony coral in southern Argentina (Balanophyllia malouinensis, Pendleton et al. 2021). ...
... This is an indication that the sampling effort is far from being sufficient to approach a realistic estimation of the number of species in the area. Furthermore, reproductive data for this group is virtually nonexistent within the AEEZ, with only one study on Balanophyllia malouinensis at a much shallower depth (729-900 m) (Pendleton et al. 2021). Finally, this is the third deepest study on a scleractinian coral reproduction. ...
The first record of the solitary stony coral Fungiacyathus (Fungiacyathus) fragilis is reported from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Specimens were collected at the Mar del Plata submarine canyon in the Argentinian continental slope at 2419–3447 m depth during 2012 and 2013. The four specimens studied through histological sections were gonochoric. A high fecundity was recorded for one female (26,496 oocytes per polyp). The maximum size of oocytes was 786 µm suggesting lecitotrophic development, also no planulae were observed. Both previtellogenic and large vitellogenic oocytes were found in all females. Evidence of asexual reproduction was identified in corallum of a dried specimen.
... In their natural environment, L. pertusa recruit to artificial substrates at great distances from natural Lophelia reefs (Gass and Roberts 2006;Bergmark and Jørgensen 2014;Larcom et al 2014). Exceptions to this reproductive strategy include a small number of scleractinian cup coral species (Balanophyllia elegans, B. malouensis, Flabellum curvatum, F. impensum and F. thouarsii) and a solitary coral (Caryophyllia huinayensis) which are known to be brooders, with larval maturation occurring within the polyp (Hellberg 1994;Waller et al. 2008;Pendleton et al. 2021;Heran et al. 2023). ...
Little is known of the reproductive traits and dispersal potential of many deep-sea corals, and in-aquarium spawning has been observed for very few species globally. Here, we document the first known observation of larval release by Goniocorella dumosa (Alcock 1902), a habitat-forming deep-sea scleractinian stony coral found in the New Zealand region. In contrast to previous understanding that G. dumosa were broadcast spawners, colonies of G. dumosa released large (approx. 1.1 mm × 0.8 mm) free-swimming planula larvae. Further investigation confirmed that this species is a brooder, with up to 10 mature larvae found in single mature polyps, and is the only known brooding deep-sea scleractinian branching coral that produces swimming larvae. Mature corals were collected from the Chatham Rise (400 m depth, 43º 22.13 S, 179° 27.09 E), to the east of New Zealand, in June 2020. We describe the observed larval behaviour, settlement and post-larval growth and development of G. dumosa, held in an aquarium, from September to December 2020. The more limited dispersal potential for larvae from a brooding species compared to a broadcast spawning coral has significant implications for both population connectivity and for the potential recovery of this species from disturbance by human activities. This in turn could influence management and protection strategies for G. dumosa and their habitat.
... In recent years, investigators have become more cautious in making diagnostics based on low sample sizes. For example, individuals of the cup coral Balanophyllia malouinensis sampled from sub-Antarctic regions displayed spermatocysts and oocytes at varying stages of development, but investigators concluded that periodicity could not be confidently determined (Pendleton et al. 2021). Some studies have been conducted on shallow-water representatives of deep-water species. ...
... Such investigations have capitalized on species that survive well in captivity, occur in areas of accessible depths, have suitable sample availability, or have known spawning seasons (Szmant-Froelich et al. 1980;Tranter et al. 1982;Cordes et al. 2001;Heltzel and Babcock 2002;Altieri 2003;Young 2003, 2005;Sun et al. 2010aSun et al. ,b, 2011Larsson et al. 2014;Strömberg and Larsson 2017;Rakka et al. 2021a,b;Heran et al. 2023;Tracey et al. 2021;Johnstone et al. 2022). Additionally, preserved specimens can, in some cases, be used to describe brooded larvae in instances where developing larvae have been preserved within the parent polyp (Waller et al. 2008;Goffredo et al. 2012;Pendleton et al. 2021). Another clue to larval formation that may be gleaned from preserved samples is the mode of larval nutrition. ...
The presence of corals living in deep waters around the globe has been documented in various publications since the late 1800s, when the first research vessels set sail on multi-year voyages. Ecological research on these species, however, only truly began some 100 years later. We now know that many species of deep-sea coral provide ecosystem services by creating complex habitat for thousands of associated species, and thus are major contributors to global marine biodiversity. Among the many vital ecological processes, reproduction provides a fundamental link between individuals and populations of these sessile organisms that enables the maintenance of current populations and provides means for expansion to new areas. While research on reproduction of deep-sea corals has increased in pace over the last 20 years, the field is still vastly understudied, with less than 4% of all known species having any aspect of reproduction reported. This knowledge gap is significant, because information on reproduction is critical to our understanding of species-specific capacity to recover from disturbances (e.g., fishing impacts, ocean warming, and seafloor mining). It is important, therefore, to examine the current state of knowledge regarding deep-sea coral reproduction to identify recent advances and potential research priorities, which was the aim of the present study. Specifically, this review synthesizes the research carried out to date on reproduction in deep-living species of corals in the orders Alcyonacea, Scleractinia, Antipatharia, Pennatulacea (class Anthozoa), and family Stylasteridae (class Hydrozoa).
... The solitary temperate CWC D. dianthus 12 , as well as the temperate colonial CWC D. pertusum 8,10,38 , M. oculata 8,10 and O. varicosa 9 reproduce by broadcast spawning. Brooding has only been reported in subpolar and polar solitary CWCs from the Southern Ocean 17,18 . ...
Little is known about the biology of cold-water corals (CWCs), let alone the reproduction and early life stages of these important deep-sea foundation species. Through a three-year aquarium experiment, we described the reproductive mode, larval release periodicity, planktonic stage, larval histology, metamorphosis and post-larval development of the solitary scleractinian CWC Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) huinayensis collected in Comau Fjord, Chilean Patagonia. We found that C. huinayensis is a brooder releasing 78.4 ± 65.9 (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) planula larvae throughout the year, a possible adaptation to low seasonality. Planulae had a length of 905 ± 114 µm and showed a well-developed gastrovascular system. After 8 ± 9.3 days (d), the larvae settled, underwent metamorphosis and developed the first set of tentacles after 2 ± 1.5 d. Skeletogenesis, zooplankton feeding and initiation of the fourth set of tentacles started 5 ± 2.1 d later, 21 ± 12.9 d, and 895 ± 45.9 d after settlement, respectively. Our study shows that the ontogenetic timing of C. huinayensis is comparable to that of some tropical corals, despite lacking zooxanthellae.
