The coral fertilization experiment took place on 17th
of November 2000 at Orpheus Island, Queensland,
Australia. Several colonies of Acropora microphthlama
were collected from the fringing reefs of nearby Pelorus
Island (Lat. 18320S; Lon. 146290E) prior to the
experiment. This species is widely distributed throughout
the Australasian/Indo-Pacific region and Eastern
Africa (Veron, 2000). The corals were maintained in
flow-through aquaria at the Research Station. Following
spawning, the egg and sperm bundles of two isolated