by Lazaro Ruda

August 20th, 2003

After an hour-long trip, south on US1, we stopped at Snappers for a delicious meal and a little diver-chat before we would head further south to Tavernier. Just a few minutes after leaving Snappers, we found ourselves unloading our equipment at Diver’s City, USA, where the ever-friendly operators of this superb dive operation, Barbara Froelich and Captain Robert ‘Bob’ Miklia, greeted us.

Excited about the night’s outcome, we prepared our equipment as Capt. Bob and Barbara attended to our every need. Anxiousness and uncertainty filled our mind as we hoped that, like the previous days before us, this rare event would once again take place.

This rare spectacle, which until the 1980’s was unknown to most, was soon to take place. Thought to be closely associated with the lunar cycle, in the Keys, it is believed to happen only once a year (for a couple of nights) during the month of August. Just a few days after the first full moon in August – around 10:30PM – the corals at these magnificent reefs partake in an event of orgasmic proportion – It’s Love-Making a la Coral!

Thanks to the insightful knowledge and dedication of Dr. Alina Szmant, many other scientists like her, and the hundreds of divers who share what information they’ve observed, the mysteries of this rare occurrence in the under sea world has been slowly unraveling. For those of us who listen carefully to the Dr's advise, the prediction of this grand occasion has become an almost exact science.

Traveling under the star-filled night sky, Capt. Bob carefully maneuvered the dive boat to our dive destination – a shallow 20-25 ft. reef called Hens & Chickens. This reef, by day, is quite the sight. Huge gorgonians tower near the surface of the water while enormous patches of hard coral scatter along the reef providing protection to the myriad of ocean creatures that call this reef their home.

Being our first night dive on this reef added to the rising excitement of hopefully watching the corals spawn. With our gear setup and ready to go, we sat and listened as Capt. Bob and Barbara briefed us on the reef layout. Pointing out along the way some places to find star corals – what was to be the “star” performer of this coral spawning extravaganza. At around 9:50PM, we splashed into the warm water and made our way to the buoy line. Here, we were told, we could easily navigate the reef and find plenty of star coral mounds.

Even before we could make it to the buoy line, Caribbean Reef Squids hovered near us as they flirted with their tentacles – mesmerizing us in their beautiful display of colors and eloquent dance. But there was more to this display than what we imagined, for the squids had different thoughts in mind. As we watched them hover near the towering gorgonians, one particular squid caught our attention as a pair of antennas protruded from its tentacles. Curious to see what this was, I cautiously approached the squid. It was then apparent what I was seeing, for in its tentacles was a large shrimp struggling to escape the squid’s deadly grasp.

If you look carefully at the tentacles of this Caribbean Reef Squid you can see a pair of white eyes and a
long set of antennas protruding from its grasp. This was a large shrimp that the squid had captured.

As we swam about the reef with our flashlight illuminating the way, we encountered many different creatures. Some, in a trans-like state, even allowed for a close-up look. Getting the chance to see these creature, who during the day would never allow such a close encounter, offered us the chance to see things we would normally miss or dwell in the beautiful patterns of color that these creatures showcase.

The eye of a Parrotfish. Night diving offers the chance to approach many creatures at a much closer range than normally possible.

A creature that would be normally missed without closer inspection. This tiny Cymothid Isopod is attached to the translucent pectoral fin of the Parrotfish.

With close to an hour in the water, unfortunately we had not seen any coral spawn. We were getting desperate, thinking we should return to the boat and put on some Barry White in order to get them ‘in the mood.’ Instead, we all continued to enjoy everything else the night dive had to offer.

Turning off our dive lights, we hovered in midwater as we vigorously waved our hands back and forth in front of us. Like some well orchestrated magician’s trick, tiny green and blue bioluminescent lights sparkled in our wake – lighting up the water like the star-filled sky above. Every once in a while we would see these same bioluminescent creatures blasting their lights at full power as fish collided with them in the darkness of the night.

A close look at the middle right-hand corner of the photograph shows a tiny Triplefin
Blenny hiding in between the polyps of a Great Star Coral.

Along the way, as I swam about looking for tiny creatures hidden in the reef, I noticed a tiny Triplefin Blenny hiding in between the polyps of a Giant Star Coral. I took one photograph of it from far away and as I approached it from less than an inch away, just as I was about to take the photograph – POOF!

In an almost coordinated fashion, all the polyps that make up this Great Star Coral release sperm. Other corals release tiny eggs mixing together in the water column. In approximately three days, if
successfully fertilized, a free swimming coral will make its way to the ocean floor where it will
begin its life as part of the reef ecosystem.

A huge white cloud suddenly covered the coral. Bursting with excitement, I quickly waved down the rest of my dive buddies to come take a look. Before us stood a mound of Giant Star Coral, appearing to be caught in a fiery inferno as a thick, white cloud expelled from each of its polyps.

We hung motionless around the Giant Star Coral watching it spawn over and over again. After each session, each coral polyp would begin to expand again until it couldn't anymore. At which point the same milky-white cloud would suddenly expel from the center of each polyp. Every once in a while, a small school of glass minnows (fish), while dancing in our light beam, would accidentally collide with the polyps. Even before the polyp would reach maximum size, the collision course with the coral would trigger an early expulsion of spawn. I guess after waiting a whole year, the corals were anxious – to say the least.

This Great Star Coral would release huge amounts of sperm into the water column in a display, which
appeared as if the coral was on fire. In between each sperm release, the polyps would contract
and expand.

We hovered around this coral with much fascination as we watched this magical and rare occurrence take place before us – for what we were watching was the beginning of new life on the ocean. With our hope fulfilled by the chance to see the corals spawn and knowing that, if left alone, nature will always find a way to ‘keep the love alive,’ we made our way back to the boat. With a hopeful future, this coral and future generations of it will survive long enough to live a full life and in its existence, allow other creatures to marvel in its presence.

Click here to watch a video of last year's coral spawning event. 5.47MB
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For the best viewing pleasure, right-click on the link and choose Save Target As...
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Special thanks go out to Barbara and Capt. Bob from Diver’s City, USA for making this wonderful adventure possible. We thank you for always making our trips with you a true pleasure and we look forward to many more adventures.

Sincerely,
TheLivingSea Dive Gang

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