Table 2. Summary of embryo and larval characteristics of octocoral species in the order Alcyonacea.
Depth: deep (>200 m) and shallow (<200 m). Reproductive mode: internal brooding (IB), broadcast spawning (BS), surface brooding (SB). T: temperature at which larvae were reared. Larval size is presented as length (mm). Competency refers to the period when larvae are competent to settle. Variables are provided either as range, average ±standard deviation, maximum (max) or median (median) values.
| Family | Habitat | Depth | Repr. mode | Species | T (°C) | Larval size (mm) | Competency (days) | Longevity (days) | Swimming behaviour | Swimmingspeed (cm/s) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcyoniidae | Temperate | Deep | IB | Anthomastus ritteri | 3.3 ±1 | 2–3, 123max | Cordes, Nybakken & Van Dykhuizen (2001) | ||||
| Coralliidae | Temperate | Shallow | IB | Corallium rubrum | 22 | 1.5 | Weinberg & Weinberg (1979) | ||||
| 19–21 | 1.0 | 28.9 ±3.3 | Vertical swimming | 0.045–0.056 | (Martínez-Quintana et al., 2014) | ||||||
| Gorgoniidae | Tropical | Shallow | BS | Antillogorgia americana | 24 | 36median | >60 | Vertical swimming | 0.22 ±0.01max | Coelho & Lasker (2016) | |
| Temperate | Shallow | IB | Eunicella singularis | 22 | 2.5 | Weinberg & Weinberg (1979) | |||||
| 18–20 | 35.0 ±11.6 | Guizien et al., (2020) | |||||||||
| Nephtheidae | Tropical | Shallow | IB | Parerythropodium f. Fulvum | 21–26 | 1–64 | 76max | Ben-David-Zaslow & Benayahu, (1998) | |||
| Tropical | Shallow | BS | Dendronephthya hemprichi | 21–26 | 2–74 | 81max | Ben-David-Zaslow & Benayahu (1998) | ||||
| Tropical | Shallow | IB | Litophyton arboreum | 21–26 | 1–57 | 92max | Ben-David-Zaslow & Benayahu (1998) | ||||
| Tropical | Shallow | IB | Nephthea sp. | 21–26 | 1–57 | Ben-David-Zaslow & Benayahu (1998) | |||||
| Subarctic | Deep | IB | Gersemia fruticosa | 1.5–2.5 | 40–70 | Swimming | Sun, Hamel & Mercier (2011) | ||||
| Subarctic | Deep | IB | Duva florida | 0-9 | 1.0–2.5 | 5 | Crawling | Sun, Hamel & Mercier (2011) | |||
| Subarctic | Deep | IB | Drifa glomerata | 2 | 4.0–5.0 | Sun, Hamel & Mercier (2010) | |||||
| Plexauridae | Tropical | Shallow | BS | Plexaura kuna | 28–30 | 2.0 | 4–21 | Lasker & Kim (1996) | |||
| Temperate | Shallow | SB | Paramuricea clavata | 18–20 | 32 ±11 | Crawling | Guizien et al., (2020) | ||||
| Tropical | Shallow | BS | Plexaura homomalla | 27–29 | 1.0 | 4 | Swimming and crawling | 0.5 | Wells, Tonra & Lasker (2020) | ||
| Temperate | Deep | BS | Dentomuricea aff. meteor | 13 | 1.15 ±0.28 | 25 | 11 | Swimming and crawling | 0.024–0.036 | This study | |
| 15 | 1.14 ±0.28 | 29 | 16 | Swimming and crawling | 0.04–0.044 | This study | |||||
| Xeniidae | Tropical | Shallow | IB | Xenia umbellata | 21–26 | 2–76 | 155max | Ben-David-Zaslow & Benayahu (1998) | |||
| Tropical | Shallow | IB | Heteroxenia tuscescens | 21–26 | 49max | 50max | Ben-David-Zaslow & Benayahu (1998) |