Data from: Signaling cascades and the importance of moonlight in coral broadcast mass spawning

Many reef-building corals participate in a mass-spawning event that occurs yearly on the Great Barrier Reef. This coral reproductive event is one of earth's most prominent examples of synchronised behavior, and coral reproductive success is vital to the persistence of coral reef ecosystems. Although several environmental cues have been implicated in the timing of mass spawning, the specific sensory cues that function together with endogenous clock mechanisms to ensure accurate timing of gamete release are largely unknown. Here, we show that moonlight is an important external stimulus for mass spawning synchrony and describe the potential mechanisms underlying the ability of corals to detect environmental triggers for the signaling cascades that ultimately result in gamete release. Our study increases the understanding of reproductive chronobiology in corals and strongly supports the hypothesis that coral gamete release is achieved by a complex array of potential neurohormones and light-sensing molecules.

众多造礁珊瑚（reef-building corals）会参与每年在大堡礁上演的大规模产卵事件。这类珊瑚繁殖事件是地球最具代表性的同步行为范例之一，而珊瑚繁殖成功率对于珊瑚礁生态系统的存续至关重要。尽管已有多项环境线索被证实与大规模产卵的时间调控存在关联，但能够与内源节律时钟（endogenous clock mechanisms）协同作用、保障配子（gamete）释放精准时序的特异性感知线索，目前仍鲜为人知。本研究证实，月光是实现大规模产卵同步的关键外部刺激源，并阐释了珊瑚感知环境触发因子、进而启动最终导致配子释放的信号级联反应（signaling cascades）的潜在机制。本研究深化了人们对珊瑚生殖时辰生物学（reproductive chronobiology）的认知，并为“珊瑚配子释放由一系列复杂的潜在神经激素（neurohormones）与光感分子（light-sensing molecules）协同调控”这一假说提供了强有力的支撑。