The Biological Bulletin, Vol 184, Issue 2 125-143, Copyright © 1993 by Marine Biological Laboratory

DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCTION

Gametogenesis and Spawning of the Sea Cucumber Psolus fabricii (Duben and Koren)

J. F. Hamel, J. H. Himmelman and L. Dufresne
Departement de Biologie and GIROQ (Groupe Interuniversitaire de Recherches Oceanographiques du Quebec), Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4

The reproductive cycle of the sea cucumber Psolus fabricii was studied in a population from the St. Lawrence Estuary in eastern Canada from May 1988 through August 1989. The gonad consists of numerous germinal tubules which vary greatly in size. The mean diameter of the tubules and gonadal mass follow annual cycles, increasing from early winter through spring, and dropping abruptly during spawning in the summer. Gametogenesis is generally a prolonged process and begins in small tubules in January. By summer the ovarian tubules contain oocytes with a modal diameter of 400-600 {mu}m, and the testicular tubules contain an abundance of early spermatogenic stages, but rarely spermatozoa. These small tubules of the gonad do not spawn until the following year, and there is little gametogenic activity within them until January, when oocyte growth and the production of later spermatogenic stages resumes. The latter production continues until summer and results in a marked increase in the diameter of the tubules. Then, during spawning, these now large fecund tubules are transformed into small tubules. Following spawning, the predominant activity within the spent tubules is phagocytosis of the residual gametes. The active phase of gametogenesis (January to summer) coincides with an increasing photoperiod regime, and an accelerated gametogenesis occurs in March when temperature and food availability begin to increase. Spawning was one month later in 1989 than in 1988 and did not show a consistent relationship with either temperature or light conditions. However, in both years, spawning coincided with a decrease in the freshwater run-off into the Estuary and with the predicted annual increase in phytoplankton.