Larvae attachment of Pocillopora damicornis

Coral recruitment is critical to the sustenance of coral reefs and is considered a demographic bottleneck in the recovery of reef populations following disturbance events. Planula larvae that must select an appropriate habitat to settle, metamorphosize, and spend the rest of their life, that is greatly important for survival. However, little is known about the molecular basis of these genetically programmed processes. Here, we revealed revealed the molecular mechanisms of settlement behavior of Pocillopora damicornis.