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Brooding in the deep-sea sea anemone Actinostola crassicornis (Hertwig, 1882) (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria) from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean

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Abstract

Marine invertebrates can display several reproductive strategies, from external reproduction to parental care. Internal brooding is particularly relevant in harsh conditions, like Antarctic/sub-Antarctic waters and deep-sea, since it maximizes the survival of the young. Actinostola crassicornis is an abundant and widely distributed sea anemone from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It can be found all along the Argentinean sea down to 1200 m depth, usually in large numbers. It is a unique species in the area, since it is a large white brooding sea anemone. We studied 75 specimens collected by the O/V Walther Herwig and the O/V Puerto Deseado all along its distribution, from about 60 m to 800 m depth, in different seasons of the year. All the specimens were sexed, and the presence of free oocytes and juveniles inside the coelenteron were assessed. Large oocytes (over 500 μm) and juveniles were found in samples from most of the sampled months. We found a larger number of female specimens, and most of the brooding specimens were female. No early developmental stages were found smaller than a sea anemone with about 12 tentacles. We conclude that A. crassicornis reproduces continuously throughout the year and that although most of the juveniles were found in females, male specimens can breed. Brooding has great benefits in terms of protecting the offspring, since predation upon the juveniles is prevented, but dispersal of the offspring is low, shown by the aggregated distribution of the species.

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Data availability

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the crew of the O/V Puerto Deseado for their assistance during the expeditions and to the curator of the ZMH (Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa) for the access to the collection and specimens. Thanks to Alejandra Lauretta for improving the English of the manuscript. This manuscript was greatly improved by the comments and suggestion of Ekaterina Bocharova, Vreni Häussermann and a third anonymous review.

Funding

This work was partially founded by PICT 2013-2504 from the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica to Pablo Penchaszadeh, a PIP 2017-0643 from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council to DL and MM, a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to DL and a PADI foundation grant to DL.

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Author notes

  1. Lauretta Daniel and Vidos Camila have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Daniel Lauretta, Camila Vidos, Mariano I. Martinez & Pablo E. Penchaszadeh

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  1. Daniel Lauretta
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  2. Camila Vidos
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  3. Mariano I. Martinez
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  4. Pablo E. Penchaszadeh
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Correspondence to Camila Vidos.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Research involving human and animal rights

All the specimens of Actinostola crassicornis used in this study were approved by the corresponding authorities both in the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” and in the Zoological Museum of Hamburg.

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Lauretta, D., Vidos, C., Martinez, M.I. et al. Brooding in the deep-sea sea anemone Actinostola crassicornis (Hertwig, 1882) (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria) from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Polar Biol 43, 1353–1361 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02713-3

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