Luminescent Syllid (Odontosyllis spp.) Courtship Display Densities Vary Across Marine Habitats Around South Water Caye, Belize

Abstract

Bright-green luminescent clouds frequently occur at the surface of shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea. These clouds are produced by syllid polychaetes during courtship. Although temporal variation in the occurrence of these courtship displays has been documented throughout the diurnal and lunar cycle, other factors such as habitat type have not been well studied. In this study, we investigated how syllid courtship-display densities varied across 3 substrate types (grassbed, rubble, and coral) over a 3 day period. In line with previous studies, we found that syllid courtship displays occurred over seagrass and rubble substrates; however, we also found that display densities were significantly higher over shallow coral substrates than over either seagrass or rubble habitats. These findings reflect published observations and newly collected observational data from other locations throughout the Caribbean. Future work across species, time and regions is required in order to better understand the factors underlying syllid display densities.

A brittle star is born: Ontogeny of luminous capabilities in Amphiura filiformis

“…Recent phylogenetic works highlighted at least 104 apparitions of bioluminescence in the Tree of Life [4][5][6]. The function of bioluminescence in marine environments is often hypothesized but rarely experimentally demonstrated (e.g., Vargula kuna, Harmothoe imbricata, Odontosyllis enopla) [7][8][9]. Multiple ecological roles have been proposed, including attracting prey, escaping from a predator, or signaling with congeners [10].…”

Ancient secretory pathways contributed to the evolutionary origin of an ecologically impactful bioluminescence system

“…Chemical secretions that generate light are produced by bioluminescent systems, which have evolved convergently many times, using an impressive variety of structural and functional forms (12,13). Bioluminescent glands facilitate many ecological interactions, including courtship signals, anti-predation 'burglar alarm' displays, and various predation strategies (3,(14)(15)(16)(17). For example, bioluminescent glands of some marine crustaceans and syllid worms discharge glowing mucus into the water as anti-predation and courtship displays and the bioluminescent glands of pocket sharks secrete illuminated lures to attract prey (14,15,18).…”

New record of bioluminescence inOdontosylliscf.australiensis(Annelida: Syllidae: Eusyllinae) in Japan

“…The bioluminescence of Odontosyllis spp., known as 'fireworms' (not the Amphinomidae here), is the best documented in this family. At least nine described species, namely Odontosyllis ctenostoma Claparède, 1868 (see Verdes et al, 2018), Odontosyllis guillermoi Fukuda & Nogueira, 2006 (see Verdes et al, 2018), Odontosyllis hyalina Grube, 1878 (Van Lummel, 1932), Odontosyllis enopla Verrill, 1900 (Galloway & Welch, 1911;Huntsman, 1948;Markert et al, 1961;Shimomura et al, 1963;Haneda, 1971;Wilkens & Wolken, 1981;Wolken & Florida, 1984;Fischer & Fischer, 1995;Brugler et al, 2018;Prentiss, 2020), Odontosyllis luminosa San Martín, 1990(San Martín, 1990Gaston & Hall, 2000), Odontosyllis octodentata Treadwell, 1917 (Erdman, 1965), Odontosyllis phosphorea (Potts, 1913;Fraser, 1915;Berkeley, 1935;Tsuji & Hill, 1983;Deheyn & Latz, 2009), Odontosyllis polycera (Schmarda, 1861) (Daly, 1975), and Odontosyllis undecimdonta Imajima & Hartman, 1964(Horii, 1982Inoue et al, 1990), and several unidentified species of Odontosyllis (Haneda, 1971;McCloskey et al, 2017;Ramesh et al, 2017;Verdes et al, 2018) have been reported as bioluminescent. Interestingly, the swarming of luminescent Odontosyllis spp.…”