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Turbulent shear spurs settlement in larval sea urchins

Brian Gaylord, Jason Hodin and Matthew C. Ferner
PNAS April 9, 2013. 201220680; published ahead of print April 9, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1220680110
Brian Gaylord
aBodega Marine Laboratory and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Bodega Bay, CA 94923;
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  • For correspondence: bpgaylord@ucdavis.edu
Jason Hodin
bHopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950; and
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Matthew C. Ferner
cSan Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, CA 94920
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  1. Edited* by M. A. R. Koehl, University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved March 21, 2013 (received for review November 29, 2012)

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Abstract

Marine invertebrates commonly produce larvae that disperse in ocean waters before settling into adult shoreline habitat. Chemical and other seafloor-associated cues often facilitate this latter transition. However, the range of effectiveness of such cues is limited to small spatial scales, creating challenges for larvae in finding suitable sites at which to settle, especially given that they may be carried many kilometers by currents during their planktonic phase. One possible solution is for larvae to use additional, broader-scale environmental signposts to first narrow their search to the general vicinity of a candidate settlement location. Here we demonstrate strong effects of just such a habitat-scale cue, one with the potential to signal larvae that they have arrived in appropriate coastal areas. Larvae of the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) exhibit dramatic enhancement in settlement following stimulation by turbulent shear typical of wave-swept shores where adults of this species live. This response manifests in an unprecedented fashion relative to previously identified cues. Turbulent shear does not boost settlement by itself. Instead, it drives a marked developmental acceleration that causes “precompetent” larvae refractory to chemical settlement inducers to immediately become “competent” and thereby reactive to such inducers. These findings reveal an unrecognized ability of larval invertebrates to shift the trajectory of a major life history event in response to fluid-dynamic attributes of a target environment. Such an ability may improve performance and survival in marine organisms by encouraging completion of their life cycle in advantageous locations.

  • competence
  • energy dissipation rate
  • metamorphosis
  • surf zone
  • turbulence

Footnotes

  • ↵1B.G., J.H., and M.C.F. contributed equally to this work.

  • ↵2To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bpgaylord{at}ucdavis.edu.
  • ↵3Present additional address: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.

  • Author contributions: B.G., J.H., and M.C.F. designed research, performed research, contributed new reagents/analytic tools, analyzed data, and wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • ↵*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.

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Turbulence spurs larval settlement
Brian Gaylord, Jason Hodin, Matthew C. Ferner
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2013, 201220680; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1220680110

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Turbulence spurs larval settlement
Brian Gaylord, Jason Hodin, Matthew C. Ferner
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2013, 201220680; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1220680110
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