Cycles of gametogenesis and plantation in the coral Pocillopora damicornis

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Abstract
Sequence and timing of gametogenesis, embryogenesis and planulation by the coral P. damicornis at Rottnest Island, the southern limit of the coral''s distribution in Western Australia, were examined by an intensive histological analysis. These corals are simultaneous hermaphrodites in which gametogenesis and planulation occur during spring and summer (Nov. to March) and follow a lunar cycle. Reproductive cycles of gametogenesis and planulation by individual heads are synchronized within and, to a lesser extent, between sites. Individual heads of coral may have up to 3 cycles of maturing gametes and planulae per season. Despite the intensive histological examination of gametogenesis, the developmental pathway leading to brooded planulae remains equivocal because oogenesis does not necessarily occur in synchrony with planulation.