Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic
This thesis examined the reproductive biology of the poorly-known deep-water gorgonian Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic. Colonies were collected from The Gully in 2007 and 2010 between 914 and 1860 m depth, and the Flemish Cap in 2009 between 671 and 1264 m. Mean polyp fecundity was re...
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2011
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ftdalhouse:oai:DalSpace.library.dal.ca:10222/13265 2024-06-02T08:11:24+00:00 Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic Beazley, Lindsay Department of Biology Master of Science Paul A. Tyler Hal Whitehead Roger Croll, Anna Metaxas, Ellen Kenchington Ellen Kenchington Not Applicable 2011-03-18T15:22:54Z http://hdl.handle.net/10222/13265 en eng http://hdl.handle.net/10222/13265 Deep-water Gorgonian Coral Reproduction Histology 2011 ftdalhouse 2024-05-06T11:40:24Z This thesis examined the reproductive biology of the poorly-known deep-water gorgonian Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic. Colonies were collected from The Gully in 2007 and 2010 between 914 and 1860 m depth, and the Flemish Cap in 2009 between 671 and 1264 m. Mean polyp fecundity was relatively high for both females and males, and the large oocyte size suggests that A. arbuscula produces lecithotrophic larvae. This species may have overlapping periodic or seasonal cycles of gametogenesis, and the absence of planulae suggests that A. arbuscula is a broadcast spawner. No spatial variation in the reproductive characteristics of this species was found, suggesting that environmental conditions are similar between the two sites. Female polyp fecundity decreased with increasing depth, which may be due to the high cost of producing oocytes versus sperm. The relatively high mean polyp fecundity, probable lecithotrophic larval development, and broadcast spawning may allow for the wide dispersal and settlement of A. arbuscula across the North Atlantic. Other/Unknown Material North Atlantic Northwest Atlantic Dalhousie University: DalSpace Institutional Repository The Gully ENVELOPE(-57.731,-57.731,51.567,51.567) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dalhousie University: DalSpace Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftdalhouse |
language |
English |
topic |
Deep-water Gorgonian Coral Reproduction Histology |
spellingShingle |
Deep-water Gorgonian Coral Reproduction Histology Beazley, Lindsay Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Deep-water Gorgonian Coral Reproduction Histology |
description |
This thesis examined the reproductive biology of the poorly-known deep-water gorgonian Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic. Colonies were collected from The Gully in 2007 and 2010 between 914 and 1860 m depth, and the Flemish Cap in 2009 between 671 and 1264 m. Mean polyp fecundity was relatively high for both females and males, and the large oocyte size suggests that A. arbuscula produces lecithotrophic larvae. This species may have overlapping periodic or seasonal cycles of gametogenesis, and the absence of planulae suggests that A. arbuscula is a broadcast spawner. No spatial variation in the reproductive characteristics of this species was found, suggesting that environmental conditions are similar between the two sites. Female polyp fecundity decreased with increasing depth, which may be due to the high cost of producing oocytes versus sperm. The relatively high mean polyp fecundity, probable lecithotrophic larval development, and broadcast spawning may allow for the wide dispersal and settlement of A. arbuscula across the North Atlantic. |
author2 |
Department of Biology Master of Science Paul A. Tyler Hal Whitehead Roger Croll, Anna Metaxas, Ellen Kenchington Ellen Kenchington Not Applicable |
author |
Beazley, Lindsay |
author_facet |
Beazley, Lindsay |
author_sort |
Beazley, Lindsay |
title |
Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic |
title_short |
Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic |
title_full |
Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Water Gorgonian Coral Acanella arbuscula from the Northwest Atlantic |
title_sort |
reproductive biology of the deep-water gorgonian coral acanella arbuscula from the northwest atlantic |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10222/13265 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.731,-57.731,51.567,51.567) |
geographic |
The Gully |
geographic_facet |
The Gully |
genre |
North Atlantic Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic Northwest Atlantic |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10222/13265 |
_version_ |
1800757517263831040 |