Resumen de Reproductive patterns of the Caribbean coral Porites Furcata (Anthozoa, Scleractinia, Poritidae) in Panama

Carmen Schlöder, Hector M. Guzman

• The branched finger coral Porites furcata (Lamarck, 1816) is common through out the Caribbean and is one of the dominant reef-builders of shallow habitats in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Porites furcata is a brooding species and we found male and hermaphroditic polyps in histological sections, suggesting a mixed brooding system. Planulation occurs monthly throughout the year during the new moon. Fertility varied among months, but trends were not significant. The reproduction of P. furcata appeared to be asynchronous; individuals released larvae over several days independently from each other. Mean size of larvae was 400 [micra]m (SD ± 98) and the average number of larvae released by one colony (10 cm diameter) was 110 ± 65 and ranged from 62 to 224 larvae during the week of the new and first quarter moons.