Capitella

Abstract: Capitella sp. I and Streblospio benedicti are infaunal, deposit-feeding polychaetes that occur in estuaries and littoral wetlands throughout much of the United States. Life table response experiments (sensu Caswell 1989a) were carried out in the laboratory to compare the demographic responses of these species to three common sources of estuarine contamination or enrichment: sewage (Milorganite), blue-green algae (Spirulina sp.), and hydrocarbons (No. 2 fuel oil). Life table data were used to generate two population projection models (a fully age-classified model and a simple two-stage model) for each species in each treatment and in a salt marsh sediment control. These models were used to quantify the effects of treatments on survival, reproduction, and age at maturity, and hence on population growth rate. For both species, survival was high in all treatments except the blue-green algae treatment, where oxygen depletion (to <1 mL/L) occurred. Treatments had dramatic effects on age at maturity, fertility, and generation time, which differed between species and among contaminants. Population growth rates (X) were higher in Capitella sp. I than in S. benedicti for all treatments, primarily due to earlier maturation and a fertility advantage exhibited by Capitella during the first few weeks of reproduction. In Capitella sp. I, explosive increases in X were seen in the sewage (X = 5.31) and algae (X = 2.81) enrichments relative to the control (X = 1.86) and the hydrocarbon treatments (X = 1.67). Reduced maturation time and increases in age-specific fertility associated with rapid growth and large body size were responsible. Hydrocarbons reduced X primarily through delayed maturation and reduced age-specific fertility. Population growth rates of S. benedicti in the hydrocarbon treatment (X = 1.11) and algae treatment (X = 1.09) were reduced relative to the control (X = 1.46) and sewage treatments (X = 1.41). The hydrocarbon reduction resulted from delayed maturity and reduced fertility, whereas the algal effects were caused by reductions in both juvenile survival and fertility. Our analyses revealed that Capitella sp. I's population growth rate was less sensitive than that of S. benedicti to these three common forms of estuarine contamination, that different sources of organic enrichment (sewage and blue-green algae) introduced at the same C and N levels could have varying demographic effects, and that when two contaminants (hydrocarbons and blue-green algae) caused similar reductions in population growth rate in a species (Streblospio), the underlying mechanisms may have differed. For both species all demographically important effects of contaminants occurred early in life, suggesting a need to focus on juveniles and young adults in field and laboratory testing. The experiments performed here demonstrated the sensitivity of polychaete demo- graphic properties to the condition of estuarine sediments. This sensitivity may be exploited to evaluate organic enrichment and hydrocarbon contamination in field settings.

Abstract: A field experiment was carried out whereby the density of macroalgae ( Enteromorpha spp.) was manipulated and the resultant changes in sediment infaunal density were monitored. Four densities of Enteromorpha spp. were used: 0,0·3, 1, and 3 kg FW m −2 , corresponding to control, low-, medium-, and high-density plots. The experiment ran from May to October 1985 and was sampled on three occasions. By July, the density of Corophium volutator was reduced at all weed levels when compared to control plots, whereas densities of Hydrobia ulvae , Macoma balthica, Nereis diversicolor , and Capitella capitata , all increased. Samples taken in October when the weed mats were buried in the sediment showed fewer differences than in July. Macoma, Nereis , and Capitella were still significantly more abundant at medium and high weed densities. Corophium showed no significant treatment effect. There was, however, a highly significant difference in population size structure for Corophium . Measurements of sediment redox potential and silt content under medium- and high-density plots revealed rapid anoxia with a significant increase in siltation.

Abstract: The effects of the polychaetes Nereis diversicolor and Capitella sp. I on organic matter mineralization in marine sediments collected under a fish farm were studied in vitro. The two species differ significantly in size, feeding, and burrowing activity. The presence of benthic fauna stimulated the total benthic metabolism (measured as O2 uptake, CO2 release, and SO 2 reduction) substantially compared to the microbial metabolism in an azoic sediment. Nereis and Capitella stimulated mineralization over a two-month period by 135% and 87%, respectively. The stimulation was primarily microbial (54%) in Capitella sediments. Sulphate reduction remained similar to azoic sediments, indicating that in particular the aerobic activity was enhanced. Microbial stimulation was less (23%) for Nereis sediments, while sulphate reduction was reduced (42%), indicating enhanced oxidation compared to azoic sediments. The faunamediated oxidation of the sediment probably causes increased removal of nitrogen through increased nitrification and denitrification and enhanced binding of phosphorus, thereby reducing nutrient fluxes to the water column. 2001 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Abstract: Summary Many animals generate new body segments sequentially from a posterior growth zone, and this is generally thought to be the case for the annelids. Most annelids, including polychaetes, have an indirect life cycle and generate their earliest segments during larval life. We have characterized the nature of the growth zone in two polychaetes, Hydroides elegans and Capitella sp. I, during both larval and juvenile stages of segment formation by examining cell division patterns with 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation. Cell division patterns show commonalities between the two species, even though they have distinct body plans and life history characteristics. In both polychaetes, larval segments arise from a field of dividing cells located in lateral regions of the body, rather than from a localized posterior growth zone. Circumferential expansion of the forming segmental tissue is particularly pronounced in Capitella sp. I. Post-metamorphic segments, in contrast, originate from a classical posterior growth zone, with the exception of four posterior thoracic segments of H. elegans, which appear to arise from an area in the middle of the body, indicating plasticity of segment-generating mechanisms present in different annelid life histories. The distinct nature of larval versus juvenile growth zones in H. elegans and Capitella sp. I raises the question of the mechanistic relationship between these two growth zones. The results of this study increase our understanding of the cellular origins of segments in annelids, and serve as a basis for interpretation of molecular expression patterns associated with segment formation in polychaetes.