Factors affecting the toxicity of trace metals to fertilization success in broadcast spawning marine invertebrates: A review

In sessile modular marine invertebrates, chimeras can originate from fusions of closely settling larvae or of colonies that come into contact through growth or movement. While it has been shown that juveniles of brooding corals fuse under experimental conditions, chimera formation in broadcast spawning corals, the most abundant group of reef corals, has not been examined. This study explores the capacity of the broadcast spawning coral Acropora millepora to form chimeras under experimental conditions and to persist as chimeras in the field. Under experimental conditions, 1.5-fold more larvae settled in aggregations than solitarily, and analyses of nine microsatellite loci revealed that 50 per cent of juveniles tested harboured different genotypes within the same colony. Significantly, some chimeric colonies persisted for 23 months post-settlement, when the study ended. Genotypes within persisting chimeric colonies all showed a high level of relatedness, whereas rejecting colonies displayed variable levels of relatedness. The nearly threefold greater sizes of chimeras compared with solitary juveniles, from settlement through to at least three months, suggest that chimerism is likely to be an important strategy for maximizing survival of vulnerable early life-history stages of corals, although longer-term studies are required to more fully explore the potential benefits of chimerism.

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The Seasonal Variation of the Free and Combined Dissolved Amino Acids in the Irish Sea

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315400004975 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 713-720 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

J. P. Riley ◽

D. A. Segar

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Seasonal Variation ◽

Trace Metals ◽

Marine Invertebrates ◽

Marine Organisms ◽

Free State ◽

Irish Sea ◽

The Irish Sea

Dissolved amino acids, in both the free state and combined as polypeptides, play an important part in the marine biochemistry of nitrogen. These compounds are excreted by phytoplankton (Fogg, 1962, 1966; Stewart, 1963; Hellebust, 1965) and zooplankton (Johannes & Webb, 1965; Webb & Johannes, 1965) and are utilized by algae (Syrett, 1962), bacteria (Proom & Woiwood, 1949) and marine invertebrates (Stephens & Schinske, 1961). Experiments with cultures have shown, indeed, that some species of phyto-plankton will not grow, or grow only with difficulty, if certain amino acids are absent (Harvey, 1938; Provasoli & Gold, 1957; Droop, 1957, 1959, 1962). In addition to their direct biochemical role, amino acids may also serve to complex trace metals, such as copper and iron, and keep them readily available for assimilation by marine organisms (Harvey, 1938; Fogg, 1959; Provasoli, 1963; Kent & Hooper, 1965; Saunders, 1957).

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Fertilization Success in Marine Invertebrates: The Influence of Gamete Age

Biological Bulletin ◽

10.2307/1543220 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 202 (1) ◽

pp. 34-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Mark Elliott Williams ◽

Matthew Graeme Bentley

Keyword(s):

Marine Invertebrates ◽

Fertilization Success

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Ocean acidification reduces sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates

Zygote ◽

10.1017/s0967199409990177 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 103-107 ◽

Cited By ~ 87

Author(s):

Masaya Morita ◽

Ryota Suwa ◽

Akira Iguchi ◽

Masako Nakamura ◽

Kazuaki Shimada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Sea Cucumber ◽

Marine Invertebrates ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Marine Organisms ◽

Haploid Genome ◽

Flagellar Motility ◽

Distant Future ◽

Broadcast Spawning ◽

Wide Range

SummaryOcean acidification is now recognized as a threat to marine ecosystems; however, the effect of ocean acidification on fertilization in marine organisms is still largely unknown. In this study, we focused on sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates (a coral and a sea cucumber). Below pH 7.7, the pH predicted to occur within the next 100 years, sperm flagellar motility was seriously impaired in these organisms. Considering that sperm flagellar motility is indispensable for transporting the paternal haploid genome for fertilization, fertilization taking place in seawater may decline in the not too distant future. Urgent surveys are necessary for a better understanding of the physiological consequences of ocean acidification on sperm flagellar motility in a wide range of marine invertebrates.

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