Seasonal polyphenism in larval type: rearing environment influences the development mode expressed by adults in the sea slug Alderia willowi

Integrative and Comparative Biology
Patrick J KrugMelissa R Romero

Abstract

Dimorphisms occur when alternative developmental pathways produce discrete phenotypes within a species, and may promote evolutionary novelty in morphology, life history, and behavior. Among marine invertebrates, intra-specific dimorphism in larval type (poecilogony) is notably rare, but should provide insight into the selective forces acting on larval strategies. Most established cases of poecilogony appear to be allelic polymorphisms, with local expression regulated by population-genetic processes. Here, we present evidence that dimorphic larval development in the sea slug Alderia willowi is a seasonal polyphenism; the type of larvae produced by an adult slug depends on the rearing environment in which that slug matured. In field surveys of 1996-1999 and 2007-2009, the population in Mission Bay, San Diego (California, USA) produced only short-lived lecithotrophic larvae in summer and early fall, but a varying proportion of slugs expressed planktotrophy in winter and spring. In laboratory experiments, slugs reared under summer conditions (high temperature, high salinity) produced the highest proportion of lecithotrophic offspring, whereas winter conditions (low temperature, low salinity) induced the lowest proportion of lecitho...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 13, 2012·Integrative and Comparative Biology·K Emily Knott, Damhnait McHugh
Dec 5, 2015·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Ryan A Ellingson, Patrick J Krug
Jun 30, 2015·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Scott C BurgessRichard R Strathmann
Nov 12, 2013·Cell·Volker Hartenstein, David Jacobs

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