The reproduction of corals is a mysterious mechanism that has long been ignored by scientists. Corals live fixed. The meeting between males and females being compromised, an astonishing strategy has been developed. The gametes, red in color, are dropped into the water, in a very precisely timed spectacle, observed for the first time in 1981.
Monday morning, at the bottom of a few bays in Noumea, the waves were reddened. Pollution? No, it was about this miracle that takes place once a year, under conditions supposed but not really known: the reproduction of corals.
This spawning occurs only once a year, during a nocturnal process lasting only a few hours, in perfect synchronization between all the corals of the same species.
The actual gamete release signal could be biological, chemical or physical. However, all the synchronizations observed taking place a few days after the Full Moon, the lunar phases have long been assumed to be decisive.
Below, a magnificent report by Claude Bretegnier, to whom the phenomenon has not escaped. This cameraman, one of the most talented in New Caledonia, especially in underwater shots, produced the photos and the video that you can view by clicking on the image.
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