Curaçao Lunar-Spawning Reef Slope
Bapor Kibra Leeward Reef, Curaçao · Latin America & Reefs · ocean_reef
About this place
Study hurricane-sheltered Southern Caribbean fringing slopes, cryptochrome-cued broadcast spawning, and Chromis planktivore walls.
For kids: Dive south of the hurricane belt where shimmering blue fish catch drifting snacks and full moons trigger pink coral snowstorms!
Curaçao Lunar-Spawning Reef Slope · 360° Habitat Camp
What to look for
- Blue chromis plankton wall — Chromis cyanea pelagic-benthic subsidy. Centre the shelf-break water column where Chromis shoals intercept pelagic copepods
- Mountainous star coral domes — Orbicella faveolata cryptochrome spawning. Locate the multi-century Orbicella colonies famous for synchronized lunar spawning
- Giant barrel sponge water pumps — Xestospongia muta sponge loop. Scan the lower reef slope colonized by Xestospongia muta driving the 'sponge loop'
Source: Levy et al. (2007), Science & Vermeij et al. (2010), PLOS ONE — Coral cryptochrome lunar photoreception and Curaçao broadcast spawning.
Ask together: How can a coral with no eyes and no brain still tell exactly when the full moon rises above the ocean?
Field quiz
Kids' question: How do corals with no eyes know the exact night after a full moon to release their floating pink egg bundles?
- Blue-light proteins in their skin sense gentle moonlight above the reef!
- Passing sea turtles tap on every coral dome
- The ocean turns hot like soup on full moons
Answer
Blue-light proteins in their skin sense gentle moonlight above the reef!
Adults' question: What is the 'sponge loop' discovered on Curaçao's coral reefs by de Goeij et al. (2013, Science)?
- Encrusting and barrel sponges absorb dissolved organic matter from corals and shed detritus consumed by reef fauna
- Sponges photosynthesize oxygen faster than tropical kelps
- Barrel sponges trap whole schools of blue tangs inside oscula
- Sponges dissolve limestone cliffs to release atmospheric nitrogen
Answer
Encrusting and barrel sponges absorb dissolved organic matter from corals and shed detritus consumed by reef fauna
360° photo: AsPJT, CC0
See it live: Live check: Curaçao Open-Ocean Reef Window
- By day
- Blue & brown chromis, French angelfish, sergeant majors, tarpon & yellowtail snappers Streamed through a submerged observation hull open directly to Curaçao's leeward shelf, capturing unscripted pelagic-reef fish interactions.
- By night
- Silvery hunting tarpon patrolling hull lights & nocturnal spiny lobsters After sunset, large megalopid tarpon patrol the illuminated hull boundary, ambushing zooplanktivorous silversides and chromis.
Other language: Русский