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Related Experiment Videos

Developmental plasticity in Macrophiothrix brittlestars: are morphologically convergent larvae also convergently

Robert D Podolsky1, Justin S McAlister

  • 1Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA. podolskyr@cofc.edu

The Biological Bulletin
|November 2, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Brittlestar larvae show adaptive skeletal plasticity, growing longer arms when food is scarce, similar to sea urchin larvae. This trait, if independently evolved, suggests plasticity itself may be a homoplastic characteristic in echinoderms.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Echinoderm Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Pluteus larvae of sea urchins and brittlestars possess internal skeletons supporting ciliated bands for locomotion and feeding.
  • Ciliated band length is crucial for larval feeding efficiency, growth, and development.
  • While pluteus morphology is considered independently evolved in echinoids and ophiuroids, skeletal growth plasticity has been documented in echinoplutei.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate adaptive plasticity in skeletal growth in ophiopluteus larvae.
  • To compare the plasticity of skeletal growth in brittlestars to that observed in sea urchins.
  • To explore the potential for homoplasy in the expression of skeletal plasticity.

Main Methods:

  • Examined four species of the brittlestar genus Macrophiothrix with varying egg sizes.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Rearing sibling larvae from 14 crosses under high (H) and low (L) food rations.
  • Measured skeletal arm rods and non-arm body dimensions to assess growth plasticity.

    • Main Results:

    • Significant adaptive plasticity, with longer arms in low-food conditions, was observed in most crosses of M. koehleri (smallest egg size).
    • Larvae of M. longipeda also exhibited longer arms relative to body length or stomach width under low-food conditions.
    • The observed plasticity in ophioplutei was comparable in timing, persistence, and magnitude to that previously reported for echinoplutei.

    Conclusions:

    • Ophiopluteus larvae demonstrate adaptive plasticity in skeletal growth, mirroring patterns seen in echinoplutei.
    • This suggests that skeletal plasticity may be a homoplastic trait, independently evolved in these two echinoderm classes.
    • Further research is needed to confirm the extent and evolutionary implications of this homoplastic plasticity.