Reproduction of Pisidium casertanum (Poli, 1791) in Arctic lake.

Yulia Bespalaya,Ivan Bolotov,Mikhail Gofarov,Olga Aksenova,Inga Paltser,Alexander Kondakov

doi:10.1098/rsos.140212

Abstract

Freshwater invertebrates are able to develop specific ecological adaptations that enable them to successfully inhabit an extreme environment. We investigated the brooding bivalve of Pisidium casertanum in Talatinskoe Lake, Vaigach Island, Arctic Russia. Here, quantitative surveys were conducted, with the collection and dissections of 765 molluscs, on the basis of which analyses on the brood sacs length (marsupia) and the number and size of embryos, were performed. In this study, the number of brooded embryos was positively correlated with the parent's shell length. The number of extramarsupial embryos was much lower than the number of intramarsupial embryos. Our research also showed that the brood sac length and embryos within one individual can vary significantly. Thus, we detected that P. casertanum has a specific brooding mechanism, accompanied by asynchronous development and embryos release by the parent. We suggest that such a mode could result in the coin-flipping effect that, presumably, increases the population breeding success in the harsh environment of the Arctic lake.

Highlights

In the Arctic, where the environmental conditions are extreme for the hydrobionts which inhabit freshwater ecosystems, there is only a short summer season, allowing the growth and reproduction of invertebrates [1,2]
We investigated the brooding bivalve of Pisidium casertanum in Talatinskoe Lake, Vaigach Island, Arctic Russia
We suggest that such a mode could result in the coin-flipping effect that, presumably, increases the population breeding success in the harsh environment of the Arctic lake

Summary

Introduction

In the Arctic, where the environmental conditions are extreme (i.e. the lake is frozen to the bottom) for the hydrobionts which inhabit freshwater ecosystems, there is only a short summer season, allowing the growth and reproduction of invertebrates [1,2]. The species occurring in the Arctic environment have appropriate ecophysiological and life-history trait adaptations to these harsh conditions [3]. A review of the literature shows that the adaptation ability of invertebrates with respect to habitat in the Arctic has been actively investigated recently.

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