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Reproductive biology of the deep-sea octocoral Drifa glomerata in the Northwest Atlantic

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Abstract

The present study examined the mode and timing of reproduction of poorly understood deep-water octocorals and the environmental factors that may influence their reproductive patterns. Data on reproductive characteristics of the octocoral Drifa glomerata (Alcyonacea: Nephtheidae) collected between 2004 and 2007 at ca. 100–330 m depth off Newfoundland and Labrador (eastern Canada) were compared among years, months and depth ranges. No male gonad was ever observed during the study. The ratio of fertile colonies possessing large pinkish polyps with oocytes/planulae was >50% throughout the year. The number of brooded planula larvae within a single fertile polyp varied between 1 and 10 for a total of approximately 40–3,000 in a whole colony. The size of oocytes and/or planulae was consistently greater in the polyps than in the branchlets, indicating that the development pathway of oocytes to planulae is from the branchlets to the polyps. Although larval production seemed to persist year round, the onset of major planulation events occurred in December–January of two consecutive years, when large mature planulae were released in correlation with the first increase of photoperiod and maximum temperature at 150 m. A second peak in planulation between April and early June followed the phytoplankton bloom. Seasonal trends were more apparent in colonies from <200 m, and the planula index varied among sampling depths and years. Larval release in a live colony under laboratory conditions occurred between January and June 2008, closely following predictions based on field samples.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank various people for assistance at different stages of this study: V. Wareham, P. Snelgrove, O. Sherwood, the crew and staff of CCGS Hudson and CCGS Teleost, the ROPOS team, DFO/BIO staff and scientists on board the Hudson (with special thanks to E. Kenchington, K. MacIsaac and B. Macdonald), C. Short, D. Ings, K. William, J. Foote, A. Taylor, M. Rise, J. So, G. Doyle, C. Negrijn, L. Combdon, OSC Laboratory and Field Services, JBARB live feed technicians and C. McFadden from Harvey Mudd College for the identification of corals. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada International Governance of the High Seas Program (through K. Gilkinson, Science Branch, DFO), and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Canada Foundation for Innovation grants to A. Mercier. We also thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments helped improve this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean Sciences Centre (OSC), Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1C 5S7, Canada

    Zhao Sun & Annie Mercier

  2. Society for the Exploration and Valuing of the Environment (SEVE), 21 Phils Hill Road, Portugal Cove-St. Philips, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1M 2B7, Canada

    Jean-François Hamel

  3. Departments of Biology and Geography, Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Evan Edinger

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  1. Zhao Sun
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  2. Jean-François Hamel
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Correspondence to Annie Mercier.

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Communicated by J. P. Grassle.

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Sun, Z., Hamel, JF., Edinger, E. et al. Reproductive biology of the deep-sea octocoral Drifa glomerata in the Northwest Atlantic. Mar Biol 157, 863–873 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1369-9

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