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Reproductive morphology of the deep-sea protobranch bivalves Yoldiella ecaudata, Yoldiella sabrina, and Yoldiella valettei (Yoldiidae) from the Southern Ocean

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Abstract

The protobranch bivalves of the Southern Ocean are poorly understood ecologically, despite their high abundances in soft sediments from the shelf to the deep sea. The subclass has a long evolutionary history predating the formation of the polar front, and knowledge of their reproductive biology is key to understanding better their successful radiation into the Southern Ocean, and within deep-sea basins. In this study, we for the first time investigate the reproductive morphology of three deep-water protobranchs; Yoldiella ecaudata from 500 m in the Amundsen Sea; Y. sabrina from between 200 and 4,730 m in the Amundsen Sea, Scotia Sea, and South Atlantic; and Y. valettei from 1,000 m in the Scotia Sea. All three species demonstrate evidence of lecithotrophic larval development with maximum oocyte size of 130.4, 187.9, and 120.6 µm in Y. ecaudata, Y. sabrina, and Y. valettei, respectively, further supported by prodissoconch I measurements. There is evidence for simultaneous hermaphroditism in Y. valettei. Asynchronous oocyte development within specimens of Y. ecaudata and Y. valettei is described, and also between populations of Y. sabrina separated by depth. The reproductive characteristics, comparable to those of North Atlantic deep-sea protobranch species, are discussed in the context of the cold thermally stable conditions prevailing on the deep-Antarctic continental shelf and deep sea. The requirement for reclassification of this complex subclass is also discussed in relation to observed soft anatomy and shell characteristics.

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Acknowledgments

Adam J. Reed was supported through a Natural Environment Research Council PhD studentship. We are grateful to the cruise leaders, captains, officers, and crews of PFS Polarstern (ANDEEP III) and of RRS James Clark Ross (JR144 BIOPEARL I, JR179 BIOPEARL II) who enabled us to collect the samples for this study. We thank Richard Pearce for help with SEM analysis, and Paul Tyler and John Grahame for their feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. The authors would also like to thank Danja Hoehn for contributing to early thoughts and discussions on protobranch reproduction. This study is part of the British Antarctic Survey Polar Science for Planet Earth Programme funded by The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and is ANDEEP publication #192.

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  1. University of Southampton, Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

    Adam J. Reed, James P. Morris & Sven Thatje

  2. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    Katrin Linse

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  1. Adam J. Reed
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Correspondence to Adam J. Reed.

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Reed, A.J., Morris, J.P., Linse, K. et al. Reproductive morphology of the deep-sea protobranch bivalves Yoldiella ecaudata, Yoldiella sabrina, and Yoldiella valettei (Yoldiidae) from the Southern Ocean. Polar Biol 37, 1383–1392 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1528-4

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