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A Comparative Analysis of the Growth and Lifespan of Ophiacantha bidentata Retzius 1805 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in the High Latitudes of the Russian Arctic

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Abstract

Growth is known to be one of the key parameters in animal ecology. The rates and periodicity of growth are determined by the internal physiological characteristics of species and the external conditions of their habitat. The growth rates and their features were studied using Ophiacantha bidentata as an example. This species is widely distributed in the Arctic. The collection material of the Marine Research Laboratory, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, was used for this study. The samples of O. bidentata were analyzed from two regions of the Russian Arctic: Vikhr Strait (Franz Josef Land) and Vilkitsky Strait. The determination of the individual age was performed by counting the ring-shaped growth marks in the calcite structure of the radial vertebrae of the animal. Each visible ring was considered as annual. The Gompertz equation was used as the basic mathematical model to describe the growth of this species. In Vikhr Strait, the average value of the theoretically limit radius of the arm (R∞) of O. bidentata was 399 ± 28 μm, and the exponential deceleration of the specific growth rate (g) was 0.58 ± 0.028. The parameters of group growth differed from that mentioned above and were R∞ = 476 ± 28 μm, g = 0.39 ± 0.063. Similar calculations performed for the O. bidentata population from the Vilkitsky Strait showed that the average value of the theoretically limit radius of the arm was 398 ± 25 μm, the exponential deceleration of the specific growth rate was 0.39 ± 0.018, and the parameters of group growth were as follows: R∞ = 495 ± 23 µm, g = 0.26 ± 0.028. The maximum lifespan of O. bidentata in the study population from Vikhr Strait (Franz Josef Land) was estimated to last 7–10 years versus 10–15 years for the Vilkitsky Strait population.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to S.G. Denisenko for useful consultations for the work on the manuscript, as well as to the staff of the Taxon Resource Center at the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (http://www.ckp-rf.ru/ckp/3038/), on the equipment of which scanning electron microscopy studies were conducted.

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 18-05-60157) and the funding budget (project no. AAAA-A17-117030310207-3) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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  1. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. A. Stratanenko

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Correspondence to E. A. Stratanenko.

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Stratanenko, E.A. A Comparative Analysis of the Growth and Lifespan of Ophiacantha bidentata Retzius 1805 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in the High Latitudes of the Russian Arctic. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 48, 1263–1271 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359021080276

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