Variability in egg and jelly-coat size and their contribution to target size for spermatozoa: a review for the Echinodermata

Fertilisation and development in broadcast-spawning marine invertebrates depends on the ability of the egg to attract spermatozoa and provision progeny. Echinoderm eggs have a jelly coat that facilitates sperm–egg collisions. We investigated variation in egg volume and target area for spermatozoa provided by the jelly coat within and between three sea urchin species (Heliocidaris erythrogramma, Heliocidaris tuberculata, Centrostephanus rodgersii), as well as across 22 echinoderm species for which data are available. Egg and jelly-coat size varied within spawns of individual females, between females of a species and between species. The jelly coat increased egg target area by 125–489% for echinoids with planktotrophic development. In general, planktotrophic echinoids (n=16) with larger eggs had thicker jelly coats, as did H. tuberculata females with larger eggs. Variability in egg and jelly-coat size within a species indicates that these traits are prone to maternal effects and may be influenced by factors such as sperm environment and offspring fitness that drive selection on egg investment. The greater variability in jelly-coat size compared with that of the egg has a large potential to affect fertilisation and should be considered in models of fertilisation kinetics. Egg size alone cannot be used as a metric to infer target size for spermatozoa.

Mutualistic association of rotifer Philodina roseola with the branchiuran fish ectoparasite Argulus bengalensis at its embryonic stage

Several rotifers including Philodina spp. are well known to make commensal and parasitic associations with different animals. The present investigation was carried out to decipher the relationship of Philodina roseola with a piscine ectoparasite Argulus bengalensis in its embryonic stage. Mechanical removal of the symbiont P. roseola from the argulid egg strips resulted in the complete (100%) failure in hatching. Several P. roseola individuals were found to feed on the solidified jelly coat of the eggs enabling the larvae to emerge under both laboratory and field conditions. Under the laboratory condition, the experimental removal of P. roseola did not affect the embryonic development, but it rendered the jelly coat intact; therefore, the larvae were unable to make hatching furrow and subsequently died. The results of our experiments thus prove this service–resource relationship to be a mutualism. Although the association is facultative for P. roseola , it is obligatory for Argulus spp. An act of intervention in this relationship thus offers a promising control of argulosis.

The jellification of north temperate lakes

Calcium (Ca) concentrations are decreasing in softwater lakes across eastern North America and western Europe. Using long-term contemporary and palaeo-environmental field data, we show that this is precipitating a dramatic change in Canadian lakes: the replacement of previously dominant pelagic herbivores (Ca-rich Daphnia species) by Holopedium glacialis , a jelly-clad, Ca-poor competitor. In some lakes, this transformation is being facilitated by increases in macro-invertebrate predation, both from native ( Chaoborus spp . ) and introduced ( Bythotrephes longimanus ) zooplanktivores, to which Holopedium , with its jelly coat, is relatively invulnerable. Greater representation by Holopedium within cladoceran zooplankton communities will reduce nutrient transfer through food webs, given their lower phosphorus content relative to daphniids, and greater absolute abundances may pose long-term problems to water users. The dominance of jelly-clad zooplankton will likely persist while lakewater Ca levels remain low.