Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-7drxs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-22T18:53:42.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reproductive biology of the serpulid Ficopomatus (Mercierella) enigmaticus in the Thames Estuary, S.E. England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

D. R. Dixon
D. R. Dixon
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Bedford College, University of London, Regent's Park, London
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Details of the gross cellular changes taking place in the gonadial tissues and coelom of Ficopomatus during the annual reproductive cycle are presented. There is no true gonad in either sex; instead, germ cell precursors are produced by divisions of a germinal epithelium associated with the ring blood vessels in the intersegmental septa.

Segments producing gametes do not all develop simultaneously; the posterior segments are generally at a more advanced stage of sexual maturity. The later stages in gamete development take place free in the coelom, where nourishment is supplied presumably by the mobilization of materials formerly stored in tissues surrounding the gut.

Spawning commences in June and continues through to October, with peak activity coinciding with the period of high water temperature in August and early September. The adult population comprises males, females, and protandrous hermaphrodites which in the male phase become sexually mature in advance of the rest of the population, and as females later on. These transitional individuals are thought to contribute a negligible amount to the effective reproductive output in those populations living where there is marked temporal constraint on the period of reproduction.

The different reproductive capacities of temperate and tropical Ficopomatus are considered.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , August 1981 , pp. 805 - 815
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1981

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Clark, R. B. & Olive, P. J. W., 1973. Recent advances in polychaete endocrinology and reproductive biology. Oceanography and Marine Biology, an Annual Review, 11, 176–223.Google Scholar
Di, Grande F. & Sabelli, B., 1972. Prime osservazioni sulla sessualita del polichete serpulide Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. Atti dell’ Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. Rendiconti. 53, 173–177.Google Scholar
Dixon, D. R., 1976. The energetics of growth and reproduction in the brackish water serpulid polychaete, Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. In Population Dynamics of Marine Organisms in Relation with Nutrient Cycling in Shallow Waters, vol. 2. Proceedings of the 10th European Symposium on Marine Biology, Ostend, Belgium, 1975 (ed. Persoone, G. and Jaspers, E.), pp. 197–209. Wetteren, Belgium: Universa Press.Google Scholar
Dixon, D. R., 1977. The Energetics of the Brackish Water Serpulid, Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. Ph.D. Thesis, University of London.Google Scholar
Fauvel, P., 1922. Un nouveau serpulien d'eau saumâtre Mercierella n.g. enigmatica n. sp. Bulletin de la Sociétézoologique de France, 47, 424–430.Google Scholar
Fauvel, P., 1925. L'opercule de la Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel (Annélide Polychete) et la prétendue incubation operculaire. Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 3, 237–242.Google Scholar
Fauvel, P., 1931. Les migrations d'une annélide. Bulletin de la Société d'Oceanographie de France, 59, 1067–1069.Google Scholar
Fischer-Piette, E., 1937. Sur la biologie du serpulien d'eau saumâtre Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. Bulletin de la Société zoologique de France, 62, 197–208.Google Scholar
Hartmann-Schroder, G., 1967. Zur morphologie, ökologie und biologie von Mercierella enigmatica (Serpulidae, Polychaeta) und ihre röhre. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 179, 421–456.Google Scholar
Hill, M. B., 1967. The life cycles and salinity tolerance of the serpulids Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel and Hydroides uncinata (Phillipi) at Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Animal Ecology, 36, 303–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hove, H. A. Ten & Weerdenburg, J. C. A., 1978. A generic revision of the brackish-water serpulid Ficopomatus Southern 1921 (Polychaeta: Serpulinae), including Mercierella Fauvel 1923, Sphaeropomatus Treadwell 1934, Mercierellopsis Rioja 1945 and Neopomatus Pillai 1960. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass. 154, 96–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mcintosh, W. C, 1924. The occurrence of opercular development in Mercierella enigmatica, Fauvel, a new British serpulid. Notes from the Gatty Marine Laboratory, St Andrews, no. XLVI. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 14, 1–2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mathias, P. & Izac, D., 1963. Sur la biologie de Mercierella enigmatica (Fauvel). Rapport et procès-verbaux des réunions. Conseil permanent international pour I'exploration de la mer, 17, 829–831.Google Scholar
Monro, C. C. A., 1924. A serpulid polychaete from London docks (Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel). Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 13, 155–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naylor, E., 1964. Biological effects of a heated effluent in docks at Swansea, S. Wales. Journal of Zoology, 144, 253–268.Google Scholar
Nelson-Smith, A., 1967. Catalogue of Main Marine Fouling Organisms. Vol. 3, Serpulids 79 pp. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.Google Scholar
Olive, P. J. W. & Clark, R. B., 1978. Physiology of reproduction. In Physiology of Annelids (ed. Mill, P. J.), pp. 271–368. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Purchon, R. D., 1948. Studies on the biology of the Bristol Channel. XVII. The littoral and sublittoral fauna of the northern shores, near Cardiff. Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists’ Society, 27, 285–310.Google Scholar
Rullier, F., 1946. Croissance de tube de Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. Bulletin du Laboratoire maritime de Dinard, 27,11–15.Google Scholar
Rullier, F., 1955. Developpement du serpulien Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. Vie et milieu, 6, 225–240.Google Scholar
Straughan, D., 1968. Ecological aspects of serpulid fouling. Australian Museum Magazine, 16, 59–64.Google Scholar
Straughan, D., 1972. Ecological studies of Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel (Annelida: Polychaeta) in the Brisbane River. Journal of Animal Ecology, 41,93–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tebble, N., 1953. A Source Of Danger To Harbour Structures. Encrustation By A Tubed Marine Worm. Journal of the Institute of Municipal Engineers, 80,259–265.Google Scholar
Thomas, J. G., 1940. Pomatoceros, Sabella, and Amphitrite. L.M.B.C. Memoirs on Typical British Marine Plants and Animals, no. 33, 88 pp.Google Scholar
Vuillemin, S., 1965. Contribution a I'Etude Ecologique du Lac de Tunis. Biologie de Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel. Première thèse pour Docteur-dés-Sciences Naturelles, Paris.Google Scholar
Wolff, W. D., 1969. Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel, een borstelworm van het brakke water, voor het eerst in Nederland gevonden. Levende natuur, 72, 85–92.Google Scholar