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The reproductive biology of Corophium volutator and C. arenarium (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. D. Fish  and
A. Mills
J. D. Fish
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
A. Mills
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
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Extract

The life-cycles of Corophium volutator (Pallas) and C. arenarium Crawford in the Dovey Estuary are based on two generations per year. Reproduction is well established by April and although the overwintering generation dies during the summer, reproduction continues until October as a result of the breeding of summer-generation animals. The mean brood size of C. volutator is greater than that of C. arenarium and both species show high levels of egg loss from the brood pouch. Hatching and moulting of the embryonic cuticle take place simultaneously and the initial rupture of the egg membranes is made by spines on the cuticle of the telson of the future free-living animal. These spines persist throughout post-embryonic life.

Adult females of both species show a semi-lunar breeding rhythmicity and, associated with this, adult males show a rhythmic pattern of crawling behaviour. As the tide ebbs during the rising spring tide period, adult males emerge from the sediment and crawl across the mud surface in search of burrows occupied by adult females. It is concluded that copulation takes place in the burrow and not in the water column.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , May 1979 , pp. 355 - 368
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1979

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References

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