R script for: Shining a light on daytime coral spawning synchrony across oceans

R script to analyse the coral spawning datasets provided on SEANOE DOI 10.17882/105886 and in Moritz et al.: 'Shining a light on daytime coral spawning synchrony across oceans', Global Ecology and Biogeography DOI 10.1111/geb.70072.

The article details the synchronous spawning patterns of Porites rus, a gonochoric coral species that spawns during the day. Spawning observations (decimal spawning start time hh.mm) were collected using a non-invasive citizen science approach between 2014 and 2023. Using two different datasets (at reef scale and at coral colony scale), the analyses provided in the R script show that depth, cumulated light, and sea surface temperature can modulate spawning start time after sunrise at different spatial scales (from single coral colonies to transoceanic scales). The differences in spawning start time for male and female colonies are also assessed. Observations and analyses allow extremely accurate predictions of P. rus spawning months, days, and time (minute-level precision) at different locations and depths in the Southern Hemisphere, facilitating future field observations and experiments. Previously underexplored, the highly effective reproductive strategy of P. rus may explain its broad distribution and persistence in stressed environments, positioning it as an invaluable model organism for studying the physiological and genetic processes driving behavioural synchrony and biological rhythms across interconnected biogeographical regions.