Growth and reproduction in the Antarctic brooding bivalve Adacnarca nitens (Philobryidae) from the Ross Sea

We present information on the reproductive biology, population structure, and growth of the brooding Antarctic bivalve Adacnarca nitens Pelseneer 1903, from the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Individuals ranging from 0.85 - 6.00 mm were found attached to a hydrozoan colony. This species shows low fecundity a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Biology
Main Authors: Higgs, Nicholas, Reed, Adam, Hooke, Rachel, Honey, David, Heilmayer, Olaf, Thatje, Sven
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Ross Sea
Pelseneer
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/65006/
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/65006/1/Higgs_MarBiol_09.pdf
Description
Summary:We present information on the reproductive biology, population structure, and growth of the brooding Antarctic bivalve Adacnarca nitens Pelseneer 1903, from the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Individuals ranging from 0.85 - 6.00 mm were found attached to a hydrozoan colony. This species shows low fecundity and large egg size, common to other brooding species. The minimum size at which oogenesis was detected was 2.3 mm and the minimum size at which brooding was evident was 3.9 mm. Embryos of a full range of developmental stages were brooded simultaneously in females. The population showed a log-normal distribution and results suggest non-periodic reproduction with continuous embryonic development. The reproductive traits of A. nitens are discussed in the context of circum-Antarctic species distribution and limitations to dispersal in brooding benthic invertebrates.

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