Larval phenotypic plasticity in the boom-and-bust crown-of-thorns seastar, Acanthaster planci

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 539:179-189 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11495 Larval phenotypic plasticity in the boom-and-bust crown-of-thorns seastar, Acanthaster planci Kennedy Wolfe1,*, Alexia Graba-Landry2, Symon A. Dworjanyn2, Maria Byrne1,3 1School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 2National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450, Australia 3School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia *Corresponding author: kennedy.wolfe@sydney.edu.au ABSTRACT: Many echinoderm larvae exhibit phenotypic plasticity: a change in phenotype in response to environmental food levels. We investigated phenotypic plasticity in the larvae of the crown-of-thorns seastar Acanthaster planci, an opportunistic boom-and-bust species with larvae that have a strong response to food conditions. The increased predation pressure resulting from outbreaks (population explosions) of A. planci is deleterious to coral reefs, but the link between population outbreaks and larval ecology is poorly understood. We hypothesised that the larvae of A. planci would have a different morphological profile in the oligotrophic conditions typical of tropical waters than in the eutrophic conditions associated with increased nutrients. We predicted that larvae reared in low food conditions would increase their ciliated band length to enhance feeding potential. Larvae were fed algal concentrations representing starvation (0 cells ml-1), low food (oligotrophic; 1000 cells ml-1), high food (eutrophic; 10000 cells ml-1) or excessive food (100000 cells ml-1) conditions. A phenotypic response was evident. Larvae in the 2 high food treatments had a shorter ciliated band length relative to body size. Conversely, larvae in the starvation and low food treatments had longer ciliated bands relative to body size, a change that would enhance particle capture capacity and facilitate larval success. This plastic response of the larvae of A. planci could have flow-on effects to adult populations, potentially facilitating population outbreaks. KEY WORDS: Asteroidea · Bipinnaria · COTS · Feeding larvae · Nutrients Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Wolfe K, Graba-Landry A, Dworjanyn SA, Byrne M (2015) Larval phenotypic plasticity in the boom-and-bust crown-of-thorns seastar, Acanthaster planci. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 539:179-189. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11495 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 539. Online publication date: November 12, 2015 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.