Taiwan, Kenting and Green Island 台灣 墾丁 綠島

Beginning of Life (Coral Spawning) 珊瑚產卵 @ Kenting (墾丁), Taiwan

Only once a year, and lasting just a few minutes, the mass coral spawning is one of the most spectacular and mysterious phenomenon underwater – where many colonies of coral simultaneously release their eggs and sperm into the ocean for external fertilization. These gametes rise slowly to the ocean surface, where the process of fertilization will begin.

The underwater “snowstorm” makes the fertilization more likely to occur since the gametes released by mature corals are viable for only a few hours. Though it is still difficult for the scientists to predict the exact timing of the annual synchronized spawning event, it is known that the phenomenon usually occurs over several days after a full moon, and which only happens at night with rising water temperatures stimulating the maturation of gametes within the polyps.

Photo taken in Kenting, Taiwan.

每年只有一次，持續時間只有幾分鐘。大規模的珊瑚產卵是水下最壯觀和神秘的現象之一。許多珊瑚同時將它們的卵子和精子釋放到海洋中進行外部受精。這種水下“暴風雪”使受精更有可能發生，因為成熟珊瑚釋放的配子只能存活幾小時。儘管科學家們仍然難以預測每年同步產卵事件的確切時間，但這種現象通常發生在滿月後的幾天內，而且只發生在夜間，當水溫升高刺激了珊瑚配子成熟時。

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