Skip Navigation


Integrative and Comparative Biology Advance Access originally published online on May 3, 2006
Integrative and Comparative Biology 2006 46(4):398-406; doi:10.1093/icb/icj037
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
46/4/398    most recent
icj037v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (14)
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bishop, J. D. D.
Right arrow Articles by Pemberton, A. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

The third way: spermcast mating in sessile marine invertebrates

J. D. D. Bishop1,*,{dagger} and A. J. Pemberton§
* School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
{dagger} Marine Biological Association of the UK, Citadel Hill Laboratory Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
§ Zoologisches Museum der Universität Zürich Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH 8057 Zürich, Switzerland

Correspondence: 1E-mail: jbis{at}mba.ac.uk

Marine invertebrates belonging to a broad range of taxa disperse aquatic spermatozoa to fertilize eggs that are retained rather than spawned. We outline the occurrence of this mechanism, which we refer to as spermcast mating, and identify tentative generalizations relating to it. Contrasts are drawn where appropriate with broadcast spawning of both eggs and sperm for external fertilization, and with copulation or pseudocopulation. Spermcast mating may involve the gradual accumulation of long-lived spermatozoa from dilute suspension, probably during suspension feeding, and the subsequent storage of spermatozoa by the recipient (acting female) prior to fertilization. This process may involve extensive contact between spermatozoa and recipient (maternal) tissue. Mating may be influenced by compatibility systems, and receipt of compatible allosperm may trigger female investment, giving apparent scope for sexual conflict over levels of maternal investment. External fertilization of cohesive egg masses remaining close to the acting female may appear somewhat intermediate between spermcast mating and broadcast spawning but, while it may be possible to envisage a continuum between the 2 modes, the end points are distinct, commonplace, and involve contrasting reproductive characteristics. Three variants of the typical pattern of spermcast mating are briefly discussed: the spawning of zygotes (rather than the more usual brooding of progeny), polyembryony, and the dispersal of spermatophores rather than individual spermatozoa.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.