Female reproductive biology of two sympatric incirrate octopod species, Adelieledone polymorpha (Robson 1930) and Pareledone turqueti (Joubin 1905) (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae), from South Georgia

The reproductive biology of two species of endemic Southern Ocean octopods was investigated around the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and Shag Rocks. The females of both the species produce few, large eggs. This appears to be governed by phylogenetic constraint. No evidence was found for ont...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Barratt, I.M., Johnson, M.P., Collins, M.A., Allcock, A.L.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Springer 2008
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Online Access:http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/10118/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-007-0392-x
Description
Summary:The reproductive biology of two species of endemic Southern Ocean octopods was investigated around the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and Shag Rocks. The females of both the species produce few, large eggs. This appears to be governed by phylogenetic constraint. No evidence was found for ontogenetic migration or seasonality associated with gonad maturation. Based on oocyte length frequency distributions and observations of oocyte development within the ovary, it is possible that both species could have either a single or multiple-batch spawning strategy. Pareledone turqueti ovaries contained fewer larger oocytes than those of Adefieledone polymorpha, which may help to reduce competition for resources immediately after hatching.