Life-History Analysis of Asterinid Starfishes.

AbstractThe starfish family Asterinidae shows a diversity of reproductive modes, and a number of species have sufficient life-history data that can be used for analysis, using life-cycle graphs. These include four species that reproduce by fission (, , , and ), a viviparous species (), two species with benthic egg masses ( and ), one with planktonic larvae that do not feed (), and one with larvae that feed in the plankton (). Species are compared using adult and first-year survival and, for some species, the age at first reproduction, number of offspring (eggs or newly released juveniles), and individual growth parameters of the von Bertalanffy model.

Discovery of Adults Linked to Cloning Oceanic Starfish Larvae (, Asteroidea: Echinodermata).

Two juvenile specimens of a new species of were collected at Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes and Triángulos Oeste in the southern Gulf of Mexico. DNA of mitochondrial loci identifies them as members of the same clade as cloning larvae of found abundantly in waters of the Florida Current-Gulf Stream system, and distinct from and , the two known Oreasteridae species in the North Atlantic. Larvae from the new species of persist as clones but also metamorphose and settle to the benthos with typical asteroid morphology.

Negative senescence in sea urchins.

Negative senescence, a decrease in size-specific mortality of large individuals, is shown by sea urchins. Sea urchins have indeterminate growth and size-specific gamete production increases throughout life. These characteristics are present in short-lived species, Lytechinus pictus and L.

Size, growth, and density data for shallow-water sea urchins from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1956-2016.

Size, growth, and density have been studied for North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, S. polyacanthus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, Lytechinus pictus, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Arbacia stellata by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1956 to present.

Annual reversible plasticity of feeding structures: cyclical changes of jaw allometry in a sea urchin.

A wide variety of organisms show morphologically plastic responses to environmental stressors but in general these changes are not reversible. Though less common, reversible morphological structures are shown by a range of species in response to changes in predators, competitors or food. Theoretical analysis indicates that reversible plasticity increases fitness if organisms are long-lived relative to the frequency of changes in the stressor and morphological changes are rapid.

Longevity and lack of senescence in the red sea urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus.

The red sea urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus is a long-lived species and may live in excess of 100 years based on tagging studies in the field and corroboration from radiocarbon analyses as reported in the literature. Size-specific survival estimates reported here show no change in annual survival probability across the 6 largest 0.5 cm size classes from 14.

A comparison of BTA stat, hemoglobin dipstick, telomerase and Vysis UroVysion assays for the detection of urothelial carcinoma in urine.

Purpose: We determine the sensitivity and specificity of various assays for the detection of urothelial carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: A total of 280 voided urine specimens from 265 patients were obtained immediately before cystoscopy for BTA stat, (Bard Diagnostic, Redmond, Washington) hemoglobin dipstick, (Bayer, Elkhart, Indiana) telomerase and UroVysion (Vysis, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois) analysis.

Results: Of the 265 patients 75 had biopsy proven urothelial carcinoma, and the sensitivity of the assays was determined from these patients.

Sensitivity of fitness to macroparameter changes: an analysis of survivorship and individual growth in sea urchin life histories.

An analysis for an age-structured demography was conducted to explore the sensitivity of fitness to individual parameters of a growth equation (Brody-Bertalanffy) and a survivorship function (Weibull). Initial parameters were selected to simulate populations of sea urchins and include northern and southern populations of the temperate sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and tropical species such as Diadema antillarum. Results of the analysis are intuitively reasonable.

Estimating growth and mortality rates from size data.

A method is presented for estimating rates of individual growth and population mortality utilizing average individual size at two times during a year. The model assumes a constant rate of mortality, Brody-Bertalanffy growth, a stationary age distribution, and recruitment confined to one month each year. A hypothetical example is presented to show the interrelationships of the growth and mortality constants, size at recruitment, asymptotic size and average individual size.