Creating a network to report coral spawning - English Version

Dear Friend of the Maldives,

We are a Non Govermental Organisation (NGO) based in Germany and Austria that carries out scientific expeditions to the Maldives. Our aim is to explore the coral reefs, assess their health and initiate and support conservation and reef-protecting efforts

Our actions are in close cooperation with the Marine Research Center (MRC) of the Maldives.

At this time we are seeking help regarding information on the reproductive patterns of stony corals to develop new strategies of conservation. Those strategies could help restoring the coral fauna after severe bleaching events as they are predicted for the future. Even at this time, 9 years after the 1998 mass-bleaching event, corals have in average recovered by less than 50%.

The main reef-builders – stony coral – reproduce by releasing larvae or bundles of gametes into the water at certain nights of the year. The timing of the so called coral - spawning is only known for a few reefs within the archipelago of the Maldives. Triggers of the natural phenomena are the lunar-cycle and surface water temperature. Observations indicate a change of the original timing of coral-spawning. This change is likely being influenced by global warming.

Our plan is to investigate the reproduction of corals because it will be essential for the existence of coral reefs in the future. You could play a great role in achieving our goals – implementing new strategies of coral reef conservation in the Maldives.

SCUBA-Diving staff at dive centers across the Maldives has access to local coral reefs on a most frequent base at day and night-time and create a great network of observers.

The gamete-bundles are visible to the human eye and appear orange to pink when they are released. The gamete-bundles will soon float to the water surface were aggregations of eggs and sperm form spawning-slicks (see pictures).

The following information is important: if you observe coral spawning in the water or the water -surface at any location. Please note the following parameters:

• Date
• Time
• Size of the spawning-slicks
• Direction of drift
• Direction of wind
  (if possible, please take a digital picture of the spawning-slick for us.)

If you observe Coral Spawning in the future or remember past spawning events, please send this valuable information to spawningmaldives@googlemail.com or share it by your comments on the blog: http://spawningmaldives.blogspot.com .

For those who prefer to get in contact by telefone, call Mr. Hussein Zahir form the MRC: 9909911. (Int. Code.: 0096 if you're calling from outside the Maldives)

Our research-vessel will cruise the Maldives from the 7^th to the 20^th of March 2008- with 17 scientists from Germany, Austria and the Maldives on board . We forecast spawning for certain reefs in the Ari- and North-Male Atoll between the 8^th and 17^th of March. But spawning slicks might occur at a different time and locally even during September and October each year.

We greatly appreciate your help and for taking part in our effort to create this network of information that aims to conserve Maldivian coral reefs. If you would like to share any other observation of coral ecology with us, be welcome to do so.

Kind Regards,

The Expedition-team

Karen und Dr. Wolfgang Loch (Humboldt-University – Berlin)

Prof. Dr. Leinfelder (Museum of Natural History – Berlin)

Prof. Dr. Ralf Tollrian (Inst. of Evolutionary Biology, Ruhr-University Bochum)

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Scheer (Biocenter, University Würzburg)

Prof. Dr. Robert Patzner (Biology, University Salzburg)

Prof. Dr. Anton Herman (Biology, University Salzburg)

Dr. Karl Kleemann (Palaeontology, University Vienna)