micro brittle star spawn event

[Biglew11]

just after cleaning my tank 100s of brittle stars came out too spawn, i knew i had quite alot but holyo_O

 

[andrewey]

Cool! Temperature changes are probably the most common occurrence of spawning events, but changes in salinity, pH, or abundance of food (kicking up detritus) can all cause these spawning events in these stars.

 

[Scottmac]

Amazing! How long did it last for?

Cool! Temperature changes are probably the most common occurrence of spawning events, but changes in salinity, pH, or abundance of food (kicking up detritus) can all cause these spawning events in these stars.

Out of interest what type of temp changes do you mean? lower? I know in freshwater systems an influx of colder fresh water would simulate spring waters which stimulants spawning, so maybe its possible to induce a spawning event in a marine habitat inverts...

 

[Biglew11]

Cool! Temperature changes are probably the most common occurrence of spawning events, but changes in salinity, pH, or abundance of food (kicking up detritus) can all cause these spawning events in these stars.

this was a major cleaning, kicked up tons of detritus and a large water change. was pretty cool to witness.

Amazing! How long did it last for?

this went on for around 45 minutes to an hour. almost had to do a second water change;)

 

[NashobaTek]

You need to sell some of those after they get big enough to find. Lol
I need a bunch in my tank

 

[andrewey]

Amazing! How long did it last for?


Out of interest what type of temp changes do you mean? lower? I know in freshwater systems an influx of colder fresh water would simulate spring waters which stimulants spawning, so maybe its possible to induce a spawning event in a marine habitat inverts...

My memory is a bit fuzzy on the details of the temperature changes, as I discussed this with a colleague over lunch and our lab didn't use these brittle stars, but I believe the spawning could be triggered by temperature changes in both directions. I'm guessing abrupt cooler temperatures are more common events than abrupt warmer temperature events in the star's environment, but that's merely speculation. I had saved a few resources at the time in my one note- they may or may not be of interest to you:

Olive PJW (1995) Annual breeding cycles in marine invertebrates and environmental temperature: probing the proximate and ultimate causes of reproductive synchrony. J Therm Biol 20:79–90

Himmelman JH, Dumont CP, Gaymer CF, Vallieres C, Drolet D (2008) Spawning synchrony and aggregative behaviour of cold-water echinoderms during multi-species mass spawnings. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 361:161–168