Skip to main content
Dryad

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

Moritz, Charlotte1

Published Jun 09, 2025; Updated Apr 03, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cz8w9gjgs

Data files

Jun 09, 2025 version files 49.92 KB
Jul 30, 2025 version files 22.50 KB
Apr 03, 2026 version files 51.87 KB

Click names to download individual files

Abstract

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.