Coral spawning
I was given the fantastic opportunity to observe and help document the annual coral mass spawning event. We joined NParks on the MV Seaborne, out to Raffles Lighthouse, to view this spectacular sight.
So this trip constituted many firsts for me - first time on such a luxurious boat, first night dive in Singapore, and of course, first live coral spawning! :)
As my official task was to capture the images as my buddy (The Great Tempeh, Spawn-Hunter Extraordinaire), way more experienced in coral-ID, recorded the spawning colonies down, for once there are many photos! Here are some of them.
Eggs and sperm bundles all ready to go...
Going off in dribs and drabs...
A colourful reef denizen is out to catch the show too.
Some colonies release their gametes in a string - like toothpaste coming out of the tube.
Top: Acanthastrea; Bottom: Pectinia was particularly interesting to observe since I didn't previously know where the polyps were located...
Favites releasing huge amounts of gametes all at once. As an observer hovering above, finding myself suddenly engulfed in a cloud of potential new corals was quite an interesting experience.
Platygyra releasing bundles of eggs and sperm - see the pink/white areas in the bundle?
Our reefs are quite alive indeed!
So this trip constituted many firsts for me - first time on such a luxurious boat, first night dive in Singapore, and of course, first live coral spawning! :)
As my official task was to capture the images as my buddy (The Great Tempeh, Spawn-Hunter Extraordinaire), way more experienced in coral-ID, recorded the spawning colonies down, for once there are many photos! Here are some of them.
Eggs and sperm bundles all ready to go...
Going off in dribs and drabs...
A colourful reef denizen is out to catch the show too.
Some colonies release their gametes in a string - like toothpaste coming out of the tube.
Top: Acanthastrea; Bottom: Pectinia was particularly interesting to observe since I didn't previously know where the polyps were located...
Favites releasing huge amounts of gametes all at once. As an observer hovering above, finding myself suddenly engulfed in a cloud of potential new corals was quite an interesting experience.
Platygyra releasing bundles of eggs and sperm - see the pink/white areas in the bundle?
Our reefs are quite alive indeed!
1 Comments:
Fabulous photos Wai! We saw Alvin's footage too. Amazing!
Who says spectacular stuff doesn't happen in our waters! :)
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