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Pagowski V. A description of the bat star nervous system throughout larval ontogeny. Evol Dev 2024; 26:e12468. [PMID: 38108150 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Larvae represent a distinct life history stage in which animal morphology and behavior contrast strongly to adult organisms. This life history stage is a ubiquitous aspect of animal life cycles, particularly in the marine environment. In many species, the structure and function of the nervous system differ significantly between metamorphosed juveniles and larvae. However, the distribution and diversity of neural cell types in larval nervous systems remains incompletely known. Here, the expression of neurotransmitter and neuropeptide synthesis and transport genes in the bat star Patiria miniata is examined throughout larval development. This characterization of nervous system structure reveals three main neural regions with distinct but overlapping territories. These regions include a densely innervated anterior region, an enteric neural plexus, and neurons associated with the ciliary band. In the ciliary band, cholinergic cells are pervasive while dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and GABAergic cells show regional differences in their localization patterns. Furthermore, the distribution of some neural subtypes changes throughout larval development, suggesting that changes in nervous system structure align with shifting ecological priorities during different larval stages, before the development of the adult nervous system. While past work has described aspects of P. miniata larval nervous system structure, largely focusing on early developmental timepoints, this work provides a comprehensive description of neural cell type localization throughout the extensive larval period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Pagowski
- Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, USA
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2
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Levenstein MA, Gysbers DJ, Marhaver KL, Kattom S, Tichy L, Quinlan Z, Tholen HM, Wegley Kelly L, Vermeij MJA, Wagoner Johnson AJ, Juarez G. Millimeter-scale topography facilitates coral larval settlement in wave-driven oscillatory flow. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274088. [PMID: 36095015 PMCID: PMC9467362 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Larval settlement in wave-dominated, nearshore environments is the most critical life stage for a vast array of marine invertebrates, yet it is poorly understood and virtually impossible to observe in situ. Using a custom-built flume tank that mimics the oscillatory fluid flow over a shallow coral reef, we isolated the effect of millimeter-scale benthic topography and showed that it increases the settlement of slow-swimming coral larvae by an order of magnitude relative to flat substrates. Particle tracking velocimetry of flow fields revealed that millimeter-scale ridges introduced regions of flow recirculation that redirected larvae toward the substrate surface and decreased the local fluid speed, effectively increasing the window of time for larvae to settle. Regions of recirculation were quantified using the Q-criterion method of vortex identification and correlated with the settlement locations of larvae for the first time. In agreement with experiments, computational fluid dynamics modeling and agent-based larval simulations also showed significantly higher settlement onto ridged substrates. Additionally, in contrast to previous reports on the effect of micro-scale substrate topography, we found that these topographies did not produce key hydrodynamic features linked to increased settlement. These findings highlight how physics-based substrate design can create new opportunities to increase larval recruitment for ecosystem restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Levenstein
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Daniel J. Gysbers
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Kristen L. Marhaver
- CARMABI Foundation, Piscaderabaai z/n, Willemstad, CW
- * E-mail: (KLM); (AJWJ); (GJ)
| | - Sameh Kattom
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Lucas Tichy
- CARMABI Foundation, Piscaderabaai z/n, Willemstad, CW
- Department of Microbiology, Raboud University, Nijmegen, NL
| | - Zachary Quinlan
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America
| | - Haley M. Tholen
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Linda Wegley Kelly
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America
| | - Mark J. A. Vermeij
- CARMABI Foundation, Piscaderabaai z/n, Willemstad, CW
- Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL
| | - Amy J. Wagoner Johnson
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KLM); (AJWJ); (GJ)
| | - Gabriel Juarez
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KLM); (AJWJ); (GJ)
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3
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Hodin J, Ferner MC, Gaylord B. Choosing the right home: settlement responses by larvae of six sea urchin species align with hydrodynamic traits of their contrasting adult habitats. Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Ocean organisms as diverse as seaweeds and sea cucumbers exhibit life cycles in which dispersal occurs primarily via microscopic larvae or spores, with adults exhibiting limited or even no dispersal. In benthic animals, the larval stage concludes with irreversible settlement into the benthos. The decision of where and when to settle is thus one of substantial import. Prior work has shown that settlement in two shoreline echinoids (a sea urchin and a sand dollar) is unexpectedly sensitive to an environmental feature (intense fluid turbulence) that can be considered as a signal to larvae of their arrival in the neighbourhood of the hydrodynamically energetic habitats in which these taxa live as adults. Here, we used a comparative approach to explore the evolution of turbulence responsiveness in late-stage echinoid larvae. We examined three pairs of closely related sea urchins that differ in the energetic exposure of their adult habitats and found that larval responsiveness to turbulence was more pronounced in urchins that settle in more hydrodynamically exposed locations. These results raise the possibility that evolutionary differences in larval responsiveness to environmental indicators of appropriate adult habitat might reinforce or even provide a mechanism for vicariance in the ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Hodin
- Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
| | - Matthew C Ferner
- Estuary & Ocean Science Center, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, CA, USA
| | - Brian Gaylord
- Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California at Davis, Bodega Bay, CA, USA
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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4
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Wheeler JD, Secchi E, Rusconi R, Stocker R. Not Just Going with the Flow: The Effects of Fluid Flow on Bacteria and Plankton. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2019; 35:213-237. [PMID: 31412210 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100818-125119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Microorganisms often live in habitats characterized by fluid flow, from lakes and oceans to soil and the human body. Bacteria and plankton experience a broad range of flows, from the chaotic motion characteristic of turbulence to smooth flows at boundaries and in confined environments. Flow creates forces and torques that affect the movement, behavior, and spatial distribution of microorganisms and shapes the chemical landscape on which they rely for nutrient acquisition and communication. Methodological advances and closer interactions between physicists and biologists have begun to reveal the importance of flow-microorganism interactions and the adaptations of microorganisms to flow. Here we review selected examples of such interactions from bacteria, phytoplankton, larvae, and zooplankton. We hope that this article will serve as a blueprint for a more in-depth consideration of the effects of flow in the biology of microorganisms and that this discussion will stimulate further multidisciplinary effort in understanding this important component of microorganism habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanette D Wheeler
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland;
| | - Eleonora Secchi
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland;
| | - Roberto Rusconi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090 Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.,Humanitas Clinical and Research Center-IRCCS, 20089 Rozzano (MI), Italy
| | - Roman Stocker
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland;
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Ferner MC, Hodin J, Ng G, Gaylord B. Brief exposure to intense turbulence induces a sustained life-history shift in echinoids. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.187351. [PMID: 30573667 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.187351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
In coastal ecosystems, attributes of fluid motion can prompt animal larvae to rise or sink in the water column and to select microhabitats within which they attach and commit to a benthic existence. In echinoid (sea urchin and sand dollar) larvae living along wave-exposed shorelines, intense turbulence characteristic of surf zones can cause individuals to undergo an abrupt life-history shift characterized by precocious entry into competence - the stage at which larvae will settle and complete metamorphosis in response to local cues. However, the mechanistic details of this turbulence-triggered onset of competence remain poorly defined. Here, we evaluate in a series of laboratory experiments the time course of this turbulence effect, both the rapidity with which it initiates and whether it perdures. We found that larvae become competent with turbulence exposures as brief as 30 s, with longer exposures inducing a greater proportion of larvae to become competent. Intriguingly, larvae can remember such exposures for a protracted period (at least 24 h), a pattern reminiscent of long-term potentiation. Turbulence also induces short-term behavioral responses that last less than 30 min, including cessation of swimming, that facilitate sinking and thus contact of echinoid larvae with the substratum. Together, these results yield a novel perspective on how larvae find their way to suitable adult habitat at the critical settlement transition, and also open new experimental opportunities to elucidate the mechanisms by which planktonic animals respond to fluid motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew C Ferner
- San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Estuary & Ocean Science Center, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, CA 94920, USA
| | - Jason Hodin
- Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA
| | - Gabriel Ng
- Bodega Marine Laboratory and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
| | - Brian Gaylord
- Bodega Marine Laboratory and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
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Hodin J, Heyland A, Mercier A, Pernet B, Cohen DL, Hamel JF, Allen JD, McAlister JS, Byrne M, Cisternas P, George SB. Culturing echinoderm larvae through metamorphosis. Methods Cell Biol 2018; 150:125-169. [PMID: 30777174 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2018.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Echinoderms are favored study organisms not only in cell and developmental biology, but also physiology, larval biology, benthic ecology, population biology and paleontology, among other fields. However, many echinoderm embryology labs are not well-equipped to continue to rear the post-embryonic stages that result. This is unfortunate, as such labs are thus unable to address many intriguing biological phenomena, related to their own cell and developmental biology studies, that emerge during larval and juvenile stages. To facilitate broader studies of post-embryonic echinoderms, we provide here our collective experience rearing these organisms, with suggestions to try and pitfalls to avoid. Furthermore, we present information on rearing larvae from small laboratory to large aquaculture scales. Finally, we review taxon-specific approaches to larval rearing through metamorphosis in each of the four most commonly-studied echinoderm classes-asteroids, echinoids, holothuroids and ophiuroids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Hodin
- Friday Harbor Labs, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, WA, United States.
| | - Andreas Heyland
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Annie Mercier
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Bruno Pernet
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, United States
| | - David L Cohen
- State of Hawai'i, Division of Aquatic Resources, Ānuenue Fisheries Research Center, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Jean-François Hamel
- Society for the Exploration and Valuing of the Environment (SEVE), Portugal Cove-St. Philips, NL, Canada
| | - Jonathan D Allen
- Biology Department, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States
| | - Justin S McAlister
- Department of Biology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Maria Byrne
- School of Medical Sciences and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Paula Cisternas
- School of Medical Sciences and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Sophie B George
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, United States
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Hodin J, Ferner MC, Ng G, Gaylord B. Sand Dollar Larvae Show Within-Population Variation in Their Settlement Induction by Turbulence. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2018; 235:152-166. [PMID: 30624118 DOI: 10.1086/699827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Settlement-the generally irreversible transition from a planktonic phase to a benthic phase-is a critical stage in the life history of many shoreline organisms. It is reasonable to expect that larvae are under intense selection pressure to identify appropriate settlement habitat. Several decades of studies have focused mainly on local indicators that larvae use to identify suitable habitat, such as olfactory cues that indicate the presence of conspecifics or a favored food source. Our recent work has shown that the larvae of seashore-dwelling echinoids (sea urchins, sand dollars, and kin) can be primed to settle following a brief exposure to a broader-scale indicator of their approach to shore: an increase in fluid turbulence. Here we demonstrate that this priming shows within-population variation: the offspring of certain Pacific sand dollar (Dendraster excentricus) parents-both specific fathers and specific mothers, regardless of the other parent-are more responsive to turbulence than others. In particular, the observation of the effect correlating, in some cases, with specific fathers leads us to conclude that these behavioral differences are likely genetic and thus heritable. We also report that turbulence exposure causes larvae to temporarily sink to the bottom of a container of seawater and that larvae that respond in this way are also more likely to subsequently settle. We hypothesize a two-step scenario for the evolution of turbulence responsiveness at settlement and suggest that the evolutionary origin of these behaviors could be a driving force for population differentiation and speciation.
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