Biol. Bull.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Free
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Krug, P. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Krug, P. J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Development
Right arrow Evolution
Right arrow Larval Biology
Right arrow Molluscs
Right arrow Reproduction
Biol. Bull. 216: 355-372. (June 2009)
© 2009 Marine Biological Laboratory

Not My "Type": Larval Dispersal Dimorphisms and Bet-Hedging in Opisthobranch Life Histories

Patrick J. Krug

Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90032-8201

E-mail: pkrug{at}calstatela.edu

When conditions fluctuate unpredictably, selection may favor bet-hedging strategies that vary offspring characteristics to avoid reproductive wipe-outs in bad seasons. For many marine gastropods, the dispersal potential of offspring reflects both maternal effects (egg size, egg mass properties) and larval traits (development rate, habitat choice). I present data for eight sea slugs in the genus Elysia (Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa), highlighting potentially adaptive variation in traits like offspring size, timing of metamorphosis, hatching behavior, and settlement response. Elysia zuleicae produced both planktotrophic and lecithotrophic larvae, a true case of poecilogony. Both intracapsular and post-hatching metamorphosis occurred among clutches of "Boselia" marcusi, E. cornigera, and E. crispata, a dispersal dimorphism often misinterpreted as poecilogony. Egg masses of E. tuca hatched for up to 16 days but larvae settled only on the adult host alga Halimeda, whereas most larvae of E. papillosa spontaneously metamorphosed 5–7 days after hatching. Investment in extra-capsular yolk may allow mothers to increase larval size relative to egg size and vary offspring size within and among clutches. Flexible strategies of larval dispersal and offspring provisioning in Elysia spp. may represent adaptations to the patchy habitat of these specialized herbivores, highlighting the evolutionary importance of variation in a range of life-history traits.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Biol. Bull.Home page
R. B. Emlet, S. A. Maslakova, A. L. Shanks, and C. M. Young
Biological Bulletin Virtual Symposium: Biology of Marine Invertebrate Larvae
Biol. Bull., June 1, 2009; 216(3): 201 - 202.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.