Fertilization success in Galeolaria caespitosa (Polychaeta: Serpillidae): gamete characteristics, role of sperm dilution, gamete age, and contact time
| dc.contributor.author | Kupriyanova, Elena | en |
| dc.contributor.school | School of Earth and Environmental Sciences | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2006 | en |
| dc.description | Copyright © 2006 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Variability in gamete traits and the factors affecting fertilization success were studied in a common gregarious broadcast-spawning serpulid polychaete Galeolaria caespitosa. Variability of egg size and sperm velocity were not related to the adult size. High sperm concentrations (107-108 sperm. ml-1) were required to achieve fertilization rates of 60-80%. The gamete contact time required to achieve high fertilization rates (70-80%) in G. caespitosa did not exceed 5 minutes of gamete exposure given sufficiently high sperm concentrations. This suggests that attachment of sperm to the egg takes place very rapidly, and a short-term exposure to highly concentrated sperm is a common feature of fertilization ecology of this gregarious species. A sharp decline in fertilization rates at high sperm concentrations usually attributable to polyspermy was not observed. Sperm were motile for up to 6 hours after activation; however, swimming velocity and fertilization success decreased after 2 hours. Eggs of G. caespitosa were fertilizable up to 10 hours after spawning, but the number of embryos resulting from fertilizations by fresh sperm decreased after 2 hours. The gamete traits of G. caespitosa appear to have evolved to enable this sessile organism to reproduce under conditions of high population density and increased risk of polyspermy. | en |
| dc.description.statementofresponsibility | Elena K. Kupriyanova | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Scientia Marina, 2006; 70S3:309-317 | en |
| dc.identifier.issn | 0214-8358 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2440/41127 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar | en |
| dc.source.uri | http://www.icm.csic.es/scimar/index.php/secId/6/IdArt/173/ | en |
| dc.subject | Galeolaria caespitosa; Serpulidae; Polychaeta; egg size; gamete longevity; sperm behaviour; fertilization success; gamete concentration and age | en |
| dc.title | Fertilization success in Galeolaria caespitosa (Polychaeta: Serpillidae): gamete characteristics, role of sperm dilution, gamete age, and contact time | en |
| dc.type | Journal article | en |