Zero declination and atmospheric pressure data as indicators of the timing of coral spawning test

This dataset combines four types of data: coral spawning, synodic lunar rhythm, sidereal lunar rhythm, and atmospheric pressure. The dates of the synodic and sidereal rhythms are for the periods of the coral spawning data recorded at Kochi, Japan in 2006-2009 and at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia in 1999-2001, and the atmospheric pressure data (2000-2016). The synodic lunar rhythm data is for the dates of the third (last) quarter and full moons. The sidereal lunar rhythm data records the dates of zero declinations i.e. when the moon passes over the equator as it moves between hemispheres.

    Data Record Details
    Data record related to this publication Zero declination and atmospheric pressure data as indicators of the timing of coral spawning
    Data Publication title Zero declination and atmospheric pressure data as indicators of the timing of coral spawning test
  • Description

    This dataset combines four types of data: coral spawning, synodic lunar rhythm, sidereal lunar rhythm, and atmospheric pressure. The dates of the synodic and sidereal rhythms are for the periods of the coral spawning data recorded at Kochi, Japan in 2006-2009 and at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia in 1999-2001, and the atmospheric pressure data (2000-2016). The synodic lunar rhythm data is for the dates of the third (last) quarter and full moons. The sidereal lunar rhythm data records the dates of zero declinations i.e. when the moon passes over the equator as it moves between hemispheres.

  • Other Descriptors
    • Descriptor

      This dataset combines four types of data: coral spawning, synodic lunar rhythm, sidereal lunar rhythm, and atmospheric pressure. The dates of the synodic and sidereal rhythms are for the periods of the coral spawning data recorded at Kochi, Japan in 2006-2009 (Nozawa (2012)) and at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia in 1999-2001 (Wolstenholme (2004)), and the atmospheric pressure data (2000-2016). The synodic lunar rhythm data is downloaded from the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) website. Dates of the third (last) quarter moons are listed for the coral spawning data. Dates of the full moons are listed for the atmospheric pressure data. The sidereal lunar rhythm data was downloaded from the web-based interface to JPL's HORIZONS system using the following settings: Ephemeris Type: Observer; Target Body: Moon [Luna] [301]; Table Settings: Quantities=1, CSV format=Yes, Display/Output: download/save (plain text file). The Observer Location was user defined as Kochi: 132deg43’57.0”E, 32deg46’44.0”N and Lizard Island: 145deg27’37.4”E, 14deg40’05.5”S. The sidereal data records the dates of zero declinations i.e. when the moon passes over the equator as it moves from the northern to the southern hemisphere (changes from a + to – value) and the southern to the northern hemisphere (changes from a – to + value). The atmospheric pressure and wind speed data for Kochi was downloaded from the Japan Meteorological Agency website (in Japanese) for the location of Shimizu, grouped by mean daily average. The atmospheric pressure and wind speed data for Lizard Island was downloaded from the Australian Institute of Marine Science Historic Data Tool for the location of Agincourt Reef Number 3, grouped by mean daily average with rule-based quality control applied.

    • Descriptor type Full
    • Descriptor

      This dataset is available as a spreadsheet in MS Excel (.xlsx) and Open Document formats (.ods) and includes a video (.mp4) explaining the 'Coincidence of Factors' hypothesis.

    • Descriptor type Note
    • Descriptor

      HackyHour@James Cook University

      HackyHour @ James Cook University is a tech help session for researchers run by eResearch Centre at James Cook University

    • Descriptor type
  • Data type dataset
  • Keywords
    • corals
    • zero declination
    • spawning
    • gamete release
    • marine invertebrates
    • lunar rhythms
    • synodic rhythm
    • sidereal rhythm
    • atmospheric pressure
    • reproduction
  • Funding source
  • Research grant(s)/Scheme name(s)
    • -
  • Research themes
    Tropical Ecosystems, Conservation and Climate Change
    FoR Codes (*)
    SEO Codes
    Specify spatial or temporal setting of the data
    Temporal (time) coverage
  • Start Date 2000/01/01
  • End Date 2016/12/31
  • Time Period
    Spatial (location) coverage
  • Locations
    • Kochi, Japan: 132deg43’57.0”E, 32deg46’44.0”N
    • Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia: 145deg27’37.4”E, 14deg40’05.5”S
  • Related publications
      Name Wolstenholme, Jackie, Nozawa, Yoko, Byrne, Maria, and Burke, William (2018) Timing of mass spawning in corals: potential influence of the coincidence of lunar factors and associated changes in atmospheric pressure from northern and southern hemisphere case studies. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development. 62:2, 98-108
    • URL http://doi.org/10.1080/07924259.2018.1434245
    • Notes
    • Name Wolstenholme, Jackie (2015) Coral study leads to new partnerships. Share: the newsletter of the Australian National Data Service, 23. p. 7.
    • URL https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/39311/
    • Notes
    • Name Nozawa Y. 2012. Annual variation in the timing of coral spawning in a high-latitude environment: influence of temperature. Biological Bulletin. 222:192-202.
    • URL https://doi.org/10.1086/BBLv222n3p192
    • Notes This publication is the source of the coral spawning dates for Kochi, Japan.
    • Name Wolstenholme J. 2004. Temporal reproductive isolation and gametic compatibility are evolutionary mechanisms in the Acropora humilis species group (Cnidaria; Scleractinia). Marine Biology. 144:567-582.
    • URL http://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1209-2
    • Notes This publication is the source of the coral spawning dates for Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
  • Related websites
      Name United States Naval Observatory (USNO): phases of the moon
    • URL http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php
    • Notes All information on the USNO site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested. The page was last modified on 14 December 2015
    • Name NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Solar System Dynamics, HORIZONS Web-interface
    • URL https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi
    • Notes Data from the NASA/JPL Horizons ephemeris system was used with permission
    • Name Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA): past weather data - download
    • URL http://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/risk/obsdl/index.php
    • Notes Adapted from the JMA Terms of Service statement: Content on the Japan Meteorological Agency website is licensed under a Creative Commons License 4.0 License. Anyone can freely use information published on the Japan Meteorological Agency website. In addition, since numerical data, simple tables, graphs, etc. are not subject to copyright, these usage rules are not applicable for these, so you can use them freely.
    • Name Australian Institute of Marine Science Historic Data Tool
    • URL http://data.aims.gov.au/aimsrtds/datatool.xhtml
    • Notes Based on Australian Institute of Marine Science data licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence
  • Related metadata (including standards, codebooks, vocabularies, thesauri, ontologies)
      Name
    • URL
    • Notes
  • Related data
      Name Observations of spawning in laboratory aquaria for species and morphs of the Acropora humilis species group recorded during three spawning seasons (1999–2000, 2000–2001 and 2001–2002)
    • URL https://doi.org/10.4225/28/5403CA25BC84D
    • Notes
  • Related services
    Select or add a licence for the data
    The data will be licensed under CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
  • Other Licence
  • Statement of rights in data
  • Data owners
      Jackie Wolstenholme, Library and Information Services, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, jackie.wolstenholme@jcu.edu.au
      Yoko Nozawa, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, nozaway@gate.sinica.edu.tw
      Maria Byrne, Schools of Medical and Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, maria.byrne@sydney.edu.au
      William Burke, Discipline of Physiology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, william.burke@sydney.edu.au
    Citation Wolstenholme, Jacqueline (2017): Zero declination and atmospheric pressure data as indicators of the timing of coral spawning test. James Cook University. https://doi.org/10.4225/28/59658419a8ee9