Quicklook Report Coral Spawning 2025: Activities and Observations

The Coral Research and Assessment Lab (CoRAL) at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center has monitored coral spawning patterns and collected gametes from the ESA-listed species Acropora palmata and Orbicella faveolata in the upper Florida Keys since 2000. Following field monitoring and spawn collection, gametes are fertilized on site and transported to the CoRAL wet lab facility located at the University of Miami’s Experimental Hatchery in Miami, Florida where the larvae are reared and settled for grow-out and use in future research and restoration projects. Spawning observations and gamete collections were made for seven coral species in 2025: Diploria labyrinthiformis (DLAB) in April and May, Acropora palmata (APAL), Orbicella faveolata (OFAV), and Eusmilia fastigiata (EFAS) in August, Montastraea cavernosa (MCAV) in August and September, and Pseudodiploria strigosa (PSTR) and Colpophyllia natans (CNAT) in September.