Abstract
Caridean shrimps are a highly diverse group and many species form symbiotic relationships with different marine invertebrates. Periclimenes rathbunae is a brightly colored shrimp that lives predominantly in association with sea anemones. Information about the reproductive ecology of the species is scarce. Therefore, we collected 70 ovigerous females inhabiting the sun sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus in coral reefs from the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Females produced on average 289 ± 120 embryos. The volume of recently-produced embryos was on average 0.038 mm3, and embryo volume increased by 192% during the incubation period. The average embryo mortality during embryogenesis was 24%. The reproductive output was 0.24 ± 0.094, considerably higher than in many other pontoniine shrimps. Females carrying embryos close to hatching showed fully developed ovaries, suggesting consecutive spawning. We assume that the sheltered habitat, living on sea anemones, allows Periclimenes rathbunae to allocate more energy in embryo production than most other free-living caridean shrimps. This is the first record of Periclimenes rathbunae for Costa Rica.
Highlights
Caridean shrimps are a highly diverse group within the Decapoda, comprising approximately 3438 currently valid species within 389 genera (De Grave and Fransen 2011)
We studied fecundity and reproductive output of P. rathbunae in order to test the hypothesis that pontoniine shrimps living as symbionts with other invertebrates can invest more energy in embryo production that free-living shrimps but less than decapods living enclosed in other invertebrates
Vargas and Wehrtmann (2009) summarized the available information on marine decapod diversity in Costa Rica, but did not mention P. rathbunae; they pointed out that the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica was less studied than the Pacific coast of the country
Summary
Caridean shrimps are a highly diverse group within the Decapoda, comprising approximately 3438 currently valid species within 389 genera (De Grave and Fransen 2011). They inhabit a wide range of habitats (Chace 1972, Bauer 1985, Anker 2003, De Grave et al 2008), and have different niches (Welsh 1975, Bauer 2004, Hultgren and Duffy 2012), mating behaviors (Berg and Sandifer 1984, Thiel and Hinojosa 2003, Bauer and Thiel 2011, Baeza et al 2013), and reproductive features (Gherardi and Calloni 1993, Bauer 2000, Echeverría-Sáenz and Wehrtmann 2011, Nye et al 2013). Caridean symbionts often benefit by protection from predators or feeding on the host tissue (Fautin et al 1995, Silbiger and Childress 2008), and increased chances for successful reproduction (Kotb and Hartnoll 2002)
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