Setting up surface drifters before deployment.

Coral recruitment success underpins natural resilience to disturbance and understanding sexual reproductive dynamics is important in management and conservation planning. This ongoing project investigates in-depth spatial and temporal patterns of coral reproduction at Vamizi Island adjacent islands, a key area of coral ecosystems in the Quirimbas Archipelagos, Mozambique, The focus is placed on the annual mass-spawning event occurring at Vamizi, which may be unique along the East African Coast, and its impact on local dynamics of larval dispersal and recruitment.

Coral fecundity, larval dispersal and recruitment and connectivity between reefs are investigated. In the context of the massive offshore natural gas mining industry soon to bloom in the region, this project is of particular relevance. Information generated here could be used to inform authorities towards the design of an effective environmental management plan.