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Variations in the reproductive cycle of Acrocnida brachiata (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) according to environment in the Bay of Douarnenez (Brittany)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

A. Bourgoin  and
M. Guillou
A. Bourgoin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Océanographie Biologique Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Faculté des Sciences, 29287 Brest Cedex, France
M. Guillou
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Océanographie Biologique Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Faculté des Sciences, 29287 Brest Cedex, France
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Abstract

The annual reproductive and somatic cycles of the brittlestar Acrocnida brachiata are described using gonad and gut indices for intertidal and subtidal populations in the Bay of Douarnenez, France. Oocyte size frequency diagrams complement the gonad study in the subtidal population. Clearly marked reproductive cycles are defined in both populations. Accelerated gonad growth takes place in spring and the gonads reach the peak of development in May-June each year. Spawning is completed by the end of August. Oocytes reach a mean diameter of 150 μm and a new generation of oocytes appaears in the ovaries during the spawning period. The gut indices show a clear inverse relationship with the gonad indices in the intertidal population, but this relation is not well revealed in the subtidal population.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 57 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1990

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