Reef Spawning Event Today

We are mid-way through a 15-day stay on Bonaire, and had a rare (for us) experience today: a reef spawning event.

At 3 pm while diving Bachelor Beach, we observed a single brown sponge (phylum Porifera?) begin "erupting". Within 45-minutes, sponges over a wide area began releasing gametes. A white cloud filled the water and coated the reef.

We witnessed this only once before, several days after the full moon in early October. Apparently, this particular sponge follows a lunar cycle.

It was very cool to witness this act of reproduction on such a large scale.