Hostname: page-component-669899f699-2mbcq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-27T03:53:18.192Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gametogenesis and the reproductive cycle in the deep-sea anemone Paracalliactis stephensoni (Cnidaria: Actiniaria)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Michel Praet-Van
Michel Praet-Van
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biologie des Invertébrés Marins et Malacologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This ultrastructural investigation of gametogenesis in a deep-sea anemone of the Bay of Biscay trawled around 2000 m depth, contributes to the knowledge of biology and strategy of reproduction of deep-sea benthos.

This sea anemone is dioecious. The sperm appears very similar to those of shallow water sea anemones of the genus, Calliactis. The ultrastructural investigation of oogenesis allows the characteristics of the stages of previtellogenesis and vitellogenesis to be defined. The latter begins with a period of lipogenesis correlated with the formation of a trophonema. Mature oocytes measure up to 180 (im in diameter. Study of spermatogenesis and oogenesis reveals that spawning occurs in April/May. In males, the main area of testicular cysts, full of sperm, reaches maximal development from March to May and, in females, the percentage of mature oocytes decreases from 33% in April to 1% in May.

Spawning may be induced by the advent in the deep-sea of the products of the spring phytoplankton bloom. This period of spawning, during the increased deposition of organic matter to the deep-sea floor, may be an advantageous strategy for early development of Paracalliactis.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 163 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Aldred, R.G., Riemann-Zurneck, K., Thiel, H. & Rice, A.L., 1979. Ecological observations on the deep-sea anemone Actinoscyphia aurelia. Oceanologica Acta, 2, 389–395.Google Scholar
Billett, D.S.M., Lampitt, R.S., Rice, A.L. & Mantoura, R.F.C., 1983. Seasonal sedimentation of phytoplankton to the deep-sea benthos. Nature, London, 302, 520–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucklin, A. 1982. The annual cycle of reproduction in the sea anemone Metridium senile. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 60, 3241–3248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chia, F.-S. & Rostron, M.A., 1970. Some aspects of the reproductive biology of Actinia eauina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 50, 253–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, W.H. & Dewel, W.C., 1974. The structure of the gonads, gametogenesis, and sperminteractions in the Anthozoa. American Zoologist, 14, 495–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewel, W.C. & Clark, W.H., 1972. An ultrastructural investigation of spermatogenesis and the mature sperm in the anthozoan Bunodosoma cavernata (Cnidaria). Journal of Ultrastructural Research, 40, 417–431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jennison, B.L. 1979. Gametogenesis and reproductive cycles in the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 57, 403–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larkman, A.U. 1981. An ultrastructural investigation of the early stages of oocyte differentiation in Actinia fragacea (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). International Journal of Invertebrate Reproduction, 4, 147–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larkman, A.U. & Carter, M.A., 1980. The spermatozoon of Actinia eauina L. var. mesembryanthemum. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 60, 193–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larkman, A.U. & Carter, M.A., 1982. Preliminary ultrastructural and autoradiographic evidence that the trophonema of the sea anemone Actinia fragacea has a nutritive function. International Journal of Invertebrate Reproduction, 4, 375–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyke, E.B. & Robson, E.A., 1975. Spermatogenesis in Anthozoa: differentiation of the spermatid. Cell and Tissue Research, 157, 185–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schafer, W.G. & Schmidt, H., 1980. The anthozoan egg: differentiation of internal oocyte structure. In Developmental and Cellular Biology of Coelenterates (ed. P., Tardent and R., Tardent), pp. 47–52. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Schmidt, H. & Schafer, W.G., 1980. The anthozoan egg: trophic mechanisms and oocyte surface. In Developmental and Cellular Biology of Coelenterates (ed. P., Tardent and R., Tardent), pp. 41–46. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Schmidt, H. & Zissler, D., 1979. Die Spermien der Anthozoen und ihre phylogenetische Bedeurung. Zoologica, Stuttgart, 44 (129), 1–97.Google Scholar
Sebens, K.P., 1981. Reproductive ecology of the intertidal sea anemones Anthopleura xanthogrammica (Brandt) and A. elegantissima (Brandt): body size, habitat and sexual reproduction. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 54, 225–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, P.A., 1988. Seasonality in the deep sea. Oceanography and Marine Biology, an Annual Review, 26, 227–258.Google Scholar
Tyler, P.A., Grant, A., Pain, S.L. & Gage, J.D., 1982. Is annual reproduction in deep-sea echinoderms a response to variability in their environment? Nature, London, 300, 747–750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van-Praët, M., 1982. Absorption et Digestion chez Actinia equina L, Nutrition des Actiniaires. Thesis ès-Sciences, Muséum-Université, Paris VI.Google Scholar
Van-Praët, M., 1983. Fluctuations d'activités enzymatiques digestives chez les actinies abyssales: indices d'une nutrition particulaire. Oceanologica Acta, spécial volume, 197–200.Google Scholar
Van-Praët, M. & Duchateau, G., 1984. Mise en évidence chez une actinie abyssale (Paracalliactis stephensoni) d'un cycle saisonnier de reproduction. Compte Rendu Hebdomadaire des Séances de I'Académie des Sciences, 299, 687–690.Google Scholar
Wedi, S.E. & Dunn, F. 1983. Gametogenesis and reproductive periodicity of the subtidal sea anemone Urticina lofotensis (Coelenterata: Actiniaria) in California. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass., 165, 458–472.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed