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Reproductive features in the sea cucumber Pentactella perrieri (Ekman, 1927) (Holothuroidea: Cucumariidae): a brooding hermaphrodite species from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean

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Abstract

Cucumariidae (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) is a family of sea cucumbers known for displaying different reproductive strategies, including brooding and hermaphroditism. These reproductive strategies of marine invertebrates are a key feature, since it is strongly related to evolutionary and ecological aspects. According to the place in which offsprings are grown, brooding can be classified in six groups, underneath the ventral sole, among tentacles, brood pouches, dorsal pockets, perivisceral coelom and in the ovary. The last two groups are restricted to a few studied cucumariids, with only one previous report for the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Specimens of Pentactella perrieri along its known distribution (including Burdwood Bank/MPA Namuncurá and Subantarctic area) were analyzed, using morphological observations of the internal and external features. We found for the first time, that P. perrieri is a hermaphroditic species identified as a brooder. We found between 7 up to 11 brooded individuals, of up to 3 mm length, inside of 2 thin spherical and transparent brood-sacs, with a ventral external opening. Oocytes up to 1600 µm were found in May, being the largest known for the family. It was also the month with the largest mean oocytes size (778.38 ± 611.40 µm, N = 2). This research contributes to the study of the many different reproductive strategies that marine invertebrates can adopt.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the colleagues on board the B/O Puerto Deseado during different cruises along the Argentine coast; especially Carlos Sánchez Antelo, Juan José Berecoechea, Javier Di Luca, Guido Pastorino, Pamela Rivadeneira, Martín Brogger and Jonathan Flores. We also want to thank Andreas Smith-Rhaesa (ZMH), Helma Roggenbuck (ZMH) and Alejandro Tablado (MACN) for the assistance with the specimens storage in the ZMH and MACN, and Fabián Tricárico (MACN) and Renate Walter (ZMH) for the assistance with the SEM at the MACN and ZMH. Also we would like to thanks Valeria Teso, Renata Pertossi, three anonymous reviewers and editor for valuable suggestions and commentaries that improved this manuscript. This is the Contribution Number 37 to the Area Marina Protegida Namuncurá (Ley 26.875).

Funding

This study was partially founded by PICT 2016-1127, PICT 2016-0211 and PICT 2016-0271 from the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (Argentina), by PIP 11220170100643CO from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina) and by the DAAD (Germany).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Ecosistemas Costeros, Plataforma y Mar Profundo-Malacología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” (CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariano I. Martinez, Ezequiel J. Alba-Posse, Daniel Lauretta & Pablo E. Penchaszadeh

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  1. Mariano I. Martinez
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  2. Ezequiel J. Alba-Posse
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  3. Daniel Lauretta
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  4. Pablo E. Penchaszadeh
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Correspondence to Mariano I. Martinez.

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Martinez, M.I., Alba-Posse, E.J., Lauretta, D. et al. Reproductive features in the sea cucumber Pentactella perrieri (Ekman, 1927) (Holothuroidea: Cucumariidae): a brooding hermaphrodite species from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Polar Biol 43, 1383–1389 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02715-1

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