Southern Byways

 

“It’s pretty neat,” says Captain Spencer Slate, owner of Atlantis Dive Center in Key Largo, Fla. “Watching every coral head go off in waves looks somewhat like an upside down snow storm.”

Snow in the ocean? Wait a minute - what is he talking about?

Well, love is in the air, or perhaps it’s better to say that love is in the ocean. There’s this incredible phenomenon that happens about once a year, a few days after a full moon, known as coral spawning. This is when coral releases millions of gametes into the great blue. Referred to as “broadcasting spawning,” once theses gametes are fertilized, now called planula, they continue to float along with current from two days up to two months when they eventually settle to the bottom of the ocean. Once “home,” they grow into polyps and then into coral heads.

Whew! Is your head spinning? To make a long story short, this is one way coral reproduces. 

Now, while fascinating, what exactly does this have to do with travel, specially southern travel? Well, if you are a diver (or according to Captain Slate, even a snorkeler), you can see the spawning happen with your own eyes in the Keys. For those who may not be aware, United States’ only living coral barrier reef  can be found running along the island chain.

Since there was a full moon on August 16, this means spawning will be happening soon. Captain Slate is taking groups out to what he says is the perfect spot on August 22-23.

“I usually go out between 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. into about 12 to 20 feet of water,” he says. “The spawning happens around 11:20 p.m.”

He says you can see about 20 coral heads dispense thousands of gametes.

“You’re right there in it. You’ll see them floating around you.”

The whole event takes an hour and the boat returns to shore at 1:30 a.m. While he admits it’s a long evening, but it’s “well worth it.”

Hold on, you’re dealing with nature, right? So how can a time be determined.

Slate says you can thank Dr. Alina Szmant, Professor of Biology at UNC-Wilmington, whose extensive research helped predict the exact timing of this event.

“It’s really the only thing that happens in nature that can be predicated accurately,” he comments.

If you can’t make it out this year, be sure to keep up with the latest dive news through the Keys’ tourism site, so you can make plans for next year.

Photo credits: Corals in the Blue, flickr, creative commons by utnapistim

Apryl Chapman Thomas