A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning
Salt marshes and similar tide-dominated habitats present an unusual challenge for reproduction of resident aquatic organisms. Strong currents, siltation and hypoxia can potentially contribute to reproductive failure through mortality of the eggs or flushing of the eggs and larvae from the habitat. F...
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Oxford University Press
1999
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:icbiol:39/2/313 2023-05-15T17:22:23+02:00 A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning TAYLOR, MALCOLM H. 1999-04-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/39/2/313 https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.2.313 en eng Oxford University Press http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/39/2/313 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.2.313 Copyright (C) 1999, The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Aquatic Organisms Terrestrial Eggs: Early Development at the Water's Edge TEXT 1999 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.2.313 2013-05-28T05:31:00Z Salt marshes and similar tide-dominated habitats present an unusual challenge for reproduction of resident aquatic organisms. Strong currents, siltation and hypoxia can potentially contribute to reproductive failure through mortality of the eggs or flushing of the eggs and larvae from the habitat. Fundulus heteroclitus , a small brackish water killifish, is a common resident of tidal marshes along the east coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida. The reproductive strategy of this and related species is based on aerial incubation of eggs in the high intertidal zone. The eggs are resistant to desiccation and, when fully developed, hatch on immersion. Copulatory behavior and anatomy of accessory reproductive structures are adapted to placement of eggs in protected incubation sites. The gonads of both males and females mature rhythmically with an endogenous circasemilunar period, which is synchronized with the “spring” tides of new and full moons. Spawning occurs on high tides. Embryos develop in 9–15 days, and usually hatch on the succeeding spring tide series. Reproductive cyclicity in F. heteroclitus and related fishes ensures that spawning fish will have access to the high intertidal zone, thereby permitting aerial incubation of eggs. Text Newfoundland HighWire Press (Stanford University) American Zoologist 39 2 313 320 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
op_collection_id |
fthighwire |
language |
English |
topic |
Aquatic Organisms Terrestrial Eggs: Early Development at the Water's Edge |
spellingShingle |
Aquatic Organisms Terrestrial Eggs: Early Development at the Water's Edge TAYLOR, MALCOLM H. A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning |
topic_facet |
Aquatic Organisms Terrestrial Eggs: Early Development at the Water's Edge |
description |
Salt marshes and similar tide-dominated habitats present an unusual challenge for reproduction of resident aquatic organisms. Strong currents, siltation and hypoxia can potentially contribute to reproductive failure through mortality of the eggs or flushing of the eggs and larvae from the habitat. Fundulus heteroclitus , a small brackish water killifish, is a common resident of tidal marshes along the east coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida. The reproductive strategy of this and related species is based on aerial incubation of eggs in the high intertidal zone. The eggs are resistant to desiccation and, when fully developed, hatch on immersion. Copulatory behavior and anatomy of accessory reproductive structures are adapted to placement of eggs in protected incubation sites. The gonads of both males and females mature rhythmically with an endogenous circasemilunar period, which is synchronized with the “spring” tides of new and full moons. Spawning occurs on high tides. Embryos develop in 9–15 days, and usually hatch on the succeeding spring tide series. Reproductive cyclicity in F. heteroclitus and related fishes ensures that spawning fish will have access to the high intertidal zone, thereby permitting aerial incubation of eggs. |
format |
Text |
author |
TAYLOR, MALCOLM H. |
author_facet |
TAYLOR, MALCOLM H. |
author_sort |
TAYLOR, MALCOLM H. |
title |
A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning |
title_short |
A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning |
title_full |
A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning |
title_fullStr |
A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Suite of Adaptations for Intertidal Spawning |
title_sort |
suite of adaptations for intertidal spawning |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/39/2/313 https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.2.313 |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_relation |
http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/39/2/313 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.2.313 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 1999, The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.2.313 |
container_title |
American Zoologist |
container_volume |
39 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
313 |
op_container_end_page |
320 |
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1766108999448526848 |