摘要：Most corals undergo spawning after a particular moon phase, but how moon-related spawning is endogenously regulated in corals remains unknown. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether dopamine (DA) affects spawning in Acropora tenuis . When pieces of four A. tenuis colonies were reared under a natural photoperiod and water temperature, spawning was observed after the predicted moon phase. After exposure to water containing DA at 0.1 μM, pieces of the same colonies only released 5 to 10 bundles. Co-treatment with DA and pimozide (D1 and D2 receptors antagonist), but not domperidone (D2 receptor antagonist), induced mass release of bundles from the colonies. A cross-experiment revealed high fertilization rates between the control colonies (95%) and between the control and DA-treated colonies (90%), suggesting that gametes developed normally in coral tissue. Therefore, DA appears to have an inhibitory effect on the spawning of A. tenuis .
