Development of methods for spawning, fertilization, larval husbandry, and settlement in the temperate coral Astrangia poculata

Abstract

The temperate coral Astrangia poculata has recently emerged as a useful experimental organism for studying symbiosis, organism-environment interactions, and embryonic development. Crucial to the success of establishing any species as a laboratory animal are reliable husbandry protocols and the ability to culture the full life cycle in captivity. Here, we detail efforts resulting from several years (2016-2025) of collaboration by a multi-institutional group of researchers toward standardized and reproducible methods for A. poculata spawning, fertilization, larval husbandry, and settlement in the laboratory. Spawning in A. poculata can be reliably induced in the laboratory via thermal treatment, and the methods presented here yielded laboratory fertilization rates of up to 93%. Unfed larvae exhibit rates of development comparable to previous reports, and larvae supplemented with commercially available organic matter sources, including Reef Roids and Reef Snow, exhibited signs of accelerated development. Settlement (attachment and metamorphosis) of A. poculata larvae was achieved using tetrabromopyrrole (TBP), a small molecule previously shown to induce settlement and/or metamorphosis in several tropical coral species. The methods described here, including augmentation of A. poculata larval culture with feed, and TBP-triggered settlement, represent a necessary first step for culturing A. poculata individuals throughout the life cycle, which can be scaled and adapted to enable new lines of inquiry dependent on experimental manipulation of specific genetic host lineages, and/or early life stages.

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