Bythograea laubieri, B. vrijenhoeki and alvinellid polychaetes dominate the vent fauna of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. We studied gonadal development in females of both crabs. They have ovary microstructures characteristic of brachyuran decapods. The ovaries are paired organs overlying the hepatopancreas beneath the carapace. Oogonia proliferate from the germinal epithelium and develop into previtellogenic oocytes that grow to 60 Mm before undergoing vitellogenesis. The observed maximum sizes of mature oocytes were 209 Mm in B. laubieri and 138 Mm in B. vrijenhoeki. No ovigerous females were found in the samples, which agrees with the segregation behaviour of ovigerous females away from the direct influence of the active chimney in some related species. In contrast to other species of bythograeid crabs, the oocyte size-frequency data suggest that B. laubieri and B. vrijenhoeki lack synchrony in reproduction of the population as a whole. Synchrony and seasonality in reproduction of B. thermydron have been linked to the formation of phytoplankton blooms in surface waters. We suggest that the biogeography of bythograeid crabs is determined by contrasting oceanographic regimes that influence the reproductive patterns observed in different species. KEY WORDS: Bythograeid crab · Gonad development · Hydrothermal vent · Pacific-Antarctic Ridge Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 378: 153-160, 2009 al. 1987). Several aspects of its reproductive biology, including fecundity (Van Dover et al. 1985), gametogenesis (Perovich et al. 2003) and larval development (Van Dover et al. 1984, Epifanio et al. 1999, Martin & Dittel 2007 have also been described.From the data available, it is apparent that the reproductive patterns of vent-associated decapods are primarily determined by phylogenetic constraints (Van Dover et al. 1985). Thus, it is expected that other species of bythograeid crabs have reproductive patterns generally similar to those of Bythograea thermydron. In this paper, we describe results from a study of the reproductive biology of B. laubieri and B. vrijenhoeki from the southernmost vent area known on the complex East Pacific Rise/Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. We investigated the gonadal development in female crabs of both species with the hypothesis that gametogenesis is phylogenetically constrained, and therefore characteristic of bythograeid crab species. The implications of different reproductive patterns in species dispersal and biogeography are discussed. (Fig. 1). This vent site is composed of 3 small mounds, up to 4 m high and 2 m wide that host several candlestick-shaped sulphide chimneys. The substratum consisted of glassy basalt with no sediment cover, suggesting that the lava emissions are very young. Using the deep-sea submersible 'Alvin', a baited trap was moored at the foot of an active sulphide edifice and retrieved after 30 h. MATERIALS AND METHODS Individuals ofShortly after capture, all specimens were identified to species level a...
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