Effects of temperature and food ration on gonad growth and oogenesis of the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis |
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Authors: | C L Garrido B J Barber |
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Institution: | (1) School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA e-mail: bjbarber@maine.edu, US |
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Abstract: | To assess the effects of both temperature and food ration on gonad growth and oogenesis of the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (O.F. Müller), individuals collected December 1996 (winter experiment) and June 1997 (summer experiment) were maintained
for 3 months in one of four experimental treatments: (1) 3 °C and fed ad libitum (high ration), (2) 3 °C and fed one-seventh of the maximum ration (low ration), and (3) 12 °C and fed the high ration; (4) 12 °C and fed
the low ration. All individuals were fed an artificial diet and exposed to only 1 h of light every day. At the end of both
experiments, mean gonad indices of sea urchins fed the high ration had increased significantly (11–24% and 6–19% in the winter
and summer experiments, respectively), while the gonad indices of individuals fed the low ration did not change. At the high
ration (both experiments), the increase in gonad index of sea urchins occurred primarily as the result of a significant increase
in the mass of nutritive phagocytes, as revealed by histological analyses. Primary oocytes were significantly larger in individuals
held at 3 °C than at 12 °C throughout the winter experiment, regardless of food ration; during the summer experiment, primary
oocytes were significantly larger in individuals receiving the high ration, regardless of the temperature at which they were
held. These results suggest that: (1) food availability is the most important factor regulating energy storage and the relative
size of gonads throughout the year, (2) temperature affects the rate of growth and maturation of primary oocytes during the
later stages of oogenesis, and (3) once gametogenesis has been initiated, mature ova will be produced, even under conditions
of low food availability. Conditions of high food availability in summer and low temperature in winter would thus favor reproductive
output in sea urchin populations.
Received: 1 March 2000 / Accepted: 4 October 2000 |
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