Teo Aaron, Guest James R, Neo Mei Lin, Vicentuan Kareen, Todd Peter A
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore , Singapore.
SECORE International , Johor , Malaysia.
PeerJ. 2016 Jul 14;4:e2180. doi: 10.7717/peerj.2180. eCollection 2016.
Most studies of coral reproductive biology to date have focused on oocyte numbers and sizes. Only one (ex situ) study has enumerated sperm numbers, even though these data have multiple potential applications. We quantified total coral sperm and eggs per gamete bundle collected from six species in situ during a synchronous spawning event in Singapore. Egg-sperm bundles were captured midwater as they floated towards the surface after being released by the colony. For each sample, a semi-transparent soft plastic bottle was squeezed and released to create a small suction force that was used to 'catch' the bundles. This technique provided several advantages over traditional methods, including low cost, ease of use, no diving prior to the night of collection needed, and the ability to target specific areas of the colony. The six species sampled were Echinophyllia aspera, Favites abdita, F. chinensis, Merulina ampliata, M. scabricula and Platygyra pini. The mean number of sperm packaged within one egg-sperm bundle ranged from 2.04 × 10(6) to 1.93 × 10(7). The mean number of eggs per egg-sperm bundle ranged from 26.67 (SE ± 3.27) to 85.33 (SE ± 17.79). These data are critical for fertilisation success models, but the collection technique described could also be applied to studies requiring in situ spawning data at the polyp level.
迄今为止，大多数关于珊瑚生殖生物学的研究都集中在卵母细胞的数量和大小上。尽管精子数量数据有多种潜在应用，但仅有一项（异地）研究对精子数量进行了计数。我们在新加坡一次同步产卵事件期间，对原位采集的六个物种的每个配子束中的珊瑚精子和卵子总数进行了量化。卵 - 精子束在从群体释放后向水面漂浮时在水中被捕获。对于每个样本，挤压并松开一个半透明软塑料瓶以产生小的吸力来“捕获”这些束。与传统方法相比，该技术具有几个优点，包括成本低、使用方便、采集前一晚无需潜水，以及能够针对群体的特定区域。所采样的六个物种为粗糙刺叶珊瑚、瘦缩滨珊瑚、中华滨珊瑚、粗叶鹿角珊瑚、小粗叶鹿角珊瑚和平顶菊珊瑚。一个卵 - 精子束中包裹的精子平均数在2.04×10⁶至1.93×10⁷之间。每个卵 - 精子束中的卵子平均数在26.67（标准误±3.27）至85.33（标准误±17.79）之间。这些数据对于受精成功模型至关重要，但所描述的采集技术也可应用于需要息肉水平原位产卵数据的研究。
