Brooding in the Southern Ocean: The Case of the Pterasterid Sea Star Diplopteraster verrucosus (Sladen, 1882)

CINTIA P. FRAYSSE; CLAUDIA C. BOY; BECKER Y; JAVIER A. CALCAGNO; ANALÍA F PEREZ

BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

Lugar: Woods Hole; Año: 2020

0006-3185

Diplopteraster verrucosus is a sea star that incubates its offspring in nidamental chambers. The offspring relyexclusively on maternally provided nutrition. The retention ofthe embryonic stages allows the allocation of nutritional supplies from the female to the brooded juveniles during the brooding period. The main objectives of this study are, first, to quantify the reproductive investment of D. verrucosus and, second,to describe the morphology, energetics, and oxidative metabolism throughout early ontogenetic stages. A skewed sex ratioof 2:1 females:males was found, and 17 of 39 females werebrooding. Both brooding and non-brooding females showedhigher energy density and total antioxidant capacity in theirgonads than males. We identified three cohorts of offspringbeing retained within the female body simultaneously. Energydensity and reactive oxygen species increased significantlywith the offspring?s volume throughout ontogeny. Moreover,we found evidence of at least two key events during ontogeny.First, the depletion of antioxidants, the increase of reactive oxygen species, and the development of a complete digestivesystem appear to trigger feeding on the mothers?s pyloriccaeca, then an oxidative imbalance associated with the releaseof the brooded juveniles to the environment. Therefore, oxidative balance and energetic variances may be associated with development of autonomous feeding and juvenile release inD. verrucosus.