Reproductive biology of Cosmasterias lurida (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) on anthropogenically influenced substratum from Golfo Nuevo, Northern Patagonia (Argentina)

PASTOR-DE-WARD CATALINA T.; RUBILAR TAMARA; DÍAZ DE VIVAR MARÍA E.; GONZÁLEZ PISANI XIMENA; ZARATE ERICA; KROECK MARINA ; MORSAN ENRIQUE

MARINE BIOLOGY

SPRINGER

Año: 2007 vol. 151 p. 205 - 217

0025-3162

The starfish Cosmasterias lurida was sampledfrom the pier piles of Almirante Storni in theGolfo Nuevo, northern Patagonia, from November2001 to November 2003. In this anthropogenicallymodified site there is an unusually abundant foodsupply of mussels and large aggregations of starfishes.The reproductive cycle was studied by organ indicesand histological examination of gonads. The highestgonad index (GI) values were found in the summer(February?March), followed by a drop in GI values,indicating spawning. Histological analyses indicatedthat gametogenesis takes place from June to January,sexual maturity occurred during the summer andspawning occurred in April. The GI and pyloric caecaindex (PCI) tended to have an inverse relationship, butthis was only statistically significant in males. However,biochemical analyses of the starfish indicated notransfer of nutrients between pyloric caeca and gonadsin either sex. In fact, simultaneous accumulation ofcarbohydrates was found in the pyloric caeca andgonads of both sexes.