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Copper as a Factor in the Onset of Ascidian Metamorphosis

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Abstract

PRECOCIOUS metamorphosis of certain species of ascidian larvæ can be initiated by increasing the copper content of sea-water1,2. Furthermore, Glaser and Anslow3 observed that various materials that cause an acceleration of the onset of ascidian metamorphosis have an unusually high copper content; they concluded that the copper content of sea-water is causally related to the onset of natural metamorphosis. While this theory has not been generally accepted4, it has never been experimentally disproved.

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References

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Author notes

  1. J. R. WHITTAKER

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of California, Los Angeles, 24, Calif.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass.

    J. R. WHITTAKER

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  1. J. R. WHITTAKER
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WHITTAKER, J. Copper as a Factor in the Onset of Ascidian Metamorphosis. Nature 202, 1024–1025 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2021024a0

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