Forever fissiparous: asexual propagation and stable demography in a tropical and geographically isolated asterinid sea star

Clements, Matthew; Wolfe, Kennedy; Schwartz, Kit; Byrne, Maria

doi:10.1007/s00227-019-3518-0

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…An interesting observation was that one juvenile split in half through the central disk, reminiscent of fissiparity in other sea stars [61] and cloning in COTS larvae [62]. One half perished and the surviving half regenerated to a normal juvenile with 16 arms, four more than it had initially.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Diet flexibility and growth of the early herbivorous juvenile crown-of-thorns sea star, implications for its boom-bust population dynamics

et al. 2020

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The ecology of the early herbivorous juvenile stage of the crown-of-thorns sea star (COTS, Acanthaster spp.) is poorly understood, yet the success of this life stage is key to generating population outbreaks that devastate coral reefs. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) has been considered to be the main diet of herbivorous juveniles. In this study, we show that COTS can avail of a range of algal food. Juveniles were reared on CCA, Amphiroa sp., and biofilm, and survived for 10 months on all three diets. The juveniles fed CCA and Amphiroa sp. reached 15-16.5 mm diameter at~6 months and maintained this size for the rest the experiment (an additional~4 months). Juveniles fed biofilm grew more slowly and to a smaller maximum size (~3 mm diameter). However, when juveniles were switched from biofilm to CCA they resumed growth to a new asymptotic size (~13.5 mm, 13-20 months). In diet choice experiments, juveniles did not show a preference between Amphiroa sp. and CCA, but generally avoided biofilm. Our results show that juvenile COTS grew equally well on CCA and Amphiroa sp. and can subsist on biofilm for months. Some juveniles, mostly from the biofilm diet treatment, decreased in size for a time and this was followed by recovery. Flexibility in diet, growth, and prolonged maintenance of asymptotic size indicates capacity for growth plasticity in herbivorous juvenile COTS. There is potential for juvenile COTS to persist for longer than anticipated and increase in number as they wait for the opportunity to avail of coral prey. These findings complicate our ability to predict recruitment to the corallivorous stage and population outbreaks following larval settlement and the ability to understand the age structure of COTS populations.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Diet flexibility and growth of the early herbivorous juvenile crown-of-thorns sea star, implications for its boom-bust population dynamics

et al. 2020

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“…Many echinoderms also use their regenerative abilities for asexual reproduction—splitting in half (fission) to create more of themselves for rapid colonization of habitat and to balance population density (Figure 2A,B). Some starfish can even regrow a new individual from a small body fragment. In vertebrates, the ability to regenerate appendages to complete functionality is only seen in a few ectotherms (salamanders, lizards) .…”

Section: Introduction: the Regenerative Prowess Of Echinodermsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Link between Autotomy and CNS Regeneration: Echinoderms as Non‐Model Species for Regenerative Biology

Byrne

2020

BioEssays

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Achieving regeneration of the central nervous system (CNS) is a major challenge for regenerative medicine. The inability of mammals to regrow a severed CNS contrasts with the amazing regenerative powers of their deuterostome kin, the echinoderms. Rapid CNS regeneration from a specialized autotomy plane in echinoderms presents a highly tractable and suitable non‐model system for regenerative biology and evolution. Starfish arm autotomy triggers mass cell migration and local proliferation, facilitating rapid CNS regeneration. Many regeneration events in nature are preceded by autotomy and there are striking parallels between autotomy and regeneration in starfish and lizards. Comparison of these systems holds promise to provide insight into regeneration deficiency in higher vertebrates and to uncover evolutionarily conserved deuterostome‐chordate regenerative processes. This will help identify mechanisms that may be present but inactive in higher vertebrates to address the problem of their poor regenerative capacities and the challenge to achieve CNS repair and regrowth.

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Dispersed Vision in Starfish: A Collection of Semi-independent Arms

Garm

Sundberg²,

Korsvig-Nielsen³

2023

Springer Series in Vision Research

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Forever fissiparous: asexual propagation and stable demography in a tropical and geographically isolated asterinid sea star

Cited by 8 publications

References 38 publications

Diet flexibility and growth of the early herbivorous juvenile crown-of-thorns sea star, implications for its boom-bust population dynamics

Diet flexibility and growth of the early herbivorous juvenile crown-of-thorns sea star, implications for its boom-bust population dynamics

The Link between Autotomy and CNS Regeneration: Echinoderms as Non‐Model Species for Regenerative Biology

Dispersed Vision in Starfish: A Collection of Semi-independent Arms

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