Embryonic and larval development is conditioned by water temperature and maternal origin of eggs in the sea urchin Arbacia dufresnii (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

Abstract

Introduction: Embryonic and larval development in sea urchins is highly dependent on maternal nutritional status and on the environmental conditions of the seawater. Objective: To compare the development of Arbacia dufresnii in two different water temperatures and in progeny with varying maternal origins. Methods: We induced A. dufresnii females and males from Nuevo Gulf to spawn, collected the eggs of each female individually (progeny), separated them into two seawater temperatures (12 and 17 °C), and fertilized them. We recorded the percentage of fertilized eggs and embryos per developmental stage according to time, temperature and progeny. We measured larval growth by total length (TL) and midline body length (M) according to time post fecundation (DPF), temperature, and progeny. Results: Temperature did not affect fertilization, but embryo development was faster and more synchronized in the high temperature treatment. The generalized linear models indicate that embryo development depends on a quadruple interaction between the embryonic stage, time (h), seawater temperature and progeny. Larval growth was faster, producing larger larvae at the highest temperature. Larval growth depends on a triple interaction between time (DPF), seawater temperature and progeny. Conclusions: We found a temperature and progeny impact during embryonic and larval development and, in both cases, these factors generate a synergistic effect on developmental timing and larval size. This probably provides a survival advantage as a more rapid speed of development implies a decrease in the time spent in the water column, where the sea urchins are vulnerable to biotic and abiotic stressors.

Effect of gamete aging on fertilization success of the sea urchin Arbacia dufresnii (Arbacioida: Arbaciidae)

“…Males and females were induced to spawn by injection through the peristomial membrane of 0.3 mL of 0.5 M KCl solution (Strathmann, 1987). To account for the fertility variability observed among individuals of A. dufresnii (Fernández et al, 2021), standardized fertilization was performed in each bioassay by utilizing an egg pool from five females and a sperm pool from five males. Eggs were collected on filtered and UV sterilized seawater and placed in a single container, generating a pool of eggs.…”

“…The green sea urchin Arbacia dufresnii (Blainville, 1825) is an abundant coastal species from the coast of Buenos Aires in Argentina (35⁰ S) to Puerto Montt in Chile (42⁰ S) including some islands of the South Atlantic Ocean (Bernasconi, 1947;Brogger et al, 2013). In recent years, great advances have been made in the aquaculture management of A. dufresnii, optimizing its nutrition, water quality parameters, culture density in recirculating aquaculture systems, and early developmental culture (Chaar et al, 2021;Fernández et al, 2021;Sepúlveda et al, 2021;. Additionally, significant advancements have been made in the purification of pigment extracts from gametes, which can be utilized in the development of nutraceutical products and potentially beneficial for human health (Avaro et al, 2022;Barbieri et al, 2021;.…”