Australian scientists AJ Heyward and AP Negri report an unusual method of reproduction on Great Barrier Reef Corals. Below is the title, abstract, and link to the publication:
Turbulence, Cleavage, and the Naked Embryo: A Case for Coral Clones
After mass spawning events, coral embryos, lacking the protective capsule of other metazoans, are directly exposed to the environment at the ocean surface. Here, we present evidence that modest turbulence disrupts the integrity of these embryos, which fragment into totipotent cells that develop into proportionately smaller functional larvae. The level of turbulence required to fragment coral embryos can be generated from small wind-generated waves, which occur frequently during coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef. The formation of planktonic coral clones, through natural embryo fragmentation of broadcast spawn, is a previously unknown mode of reproduction in the animal kingdom.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6072/1064
Turbulence, Cleavage, and the Naked Embryo: A Case for Coral Clones
After mass spawning events, coral embryos, lacking the protective capsule of other metazoans, are directly exposed to the environment at the ocean surface. Here, we present evidence that modest turbulence disrupts the integrity of these embryos, which fragment into totipotent cells that develop into proportionately smaller functional larvae. The level of turbulence required to fragment coral embryos can be generated from small wind-generated waves, which occur frequently during coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef. The formation of planktonic coral clones, through natural embryo fragmentation of broadcast spawn, is a previously unknown mode of reproduction in the animal kingdom.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6072/1064