BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Corophium volutator

Researched by

Ken Neal & Penny Avant

Data supplied by

MarLIN

Refereed by

This information is not refereed.

Reproduction/Life History

Reproductive type

Gonochoristic

Developmental mechanism

Direct Development

Reproductive Season

See additional information

Reproductive Location

Adult burrow

Reproductive frequency

Annual episodic

Regeneration potential

Life span

<1 year

Age at reproductive maturity

<1 year

Generation time

<1 year

Fecundity

To ca 50

Egg/propagule size

Insufficient information

Fertilization type

Internal

Larvae/Juveniles
Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential	<10m	Larval settlement period	Not relevant
Duration of larval stage	Not researched

Reproduction Preferences Additional Information

Reproductive season
Corophium volutator lives for a maximum of one year (Hughes, 1988) and females can have 2-4 broods in a lifetime (Conradi & Depledge, 1999). Populations in southerly areas such as the Dovey Estuary, Wales or Starrs Point, Nova Scotia have two reproductive episodes per year. Those populations in colder, more northerly areas such as the Ythan Estuary, Scotland or in the Baltic Sea only have one (Wilson & Parker, 1996; Table 1). Gravid females first appear in March with peak numbers occurring in May. These females, having successfully over-wintered and reproduced, die out during June. The juveniles born in May undergo rapid growth and maturation to reproduce from July to September and generate the next over wintering population (Fish & Mills, 1979).
Reproductive cycle.
Female Corophium volutator require the presence of a male to mate and must moult to become ovigerous (McCurdy et al., 2000). Males search for females over the mud at low tide on spring tides (Fish & Mills, 1979) and enter burrows of mature females. Fertilization is internal by copulation and the female has to moult before the male can copulate, often leading to males guarding and fighting over females (Forbes et al., 1996). Fertilized eggs are deposited in a ventral thoracic brood pouch where the embryos develop over the following 14 days and are released as juveniles on the spring tide (Fish & Mills, 1979). Brood sizes are 20 -52 embryos (Fish & Mills, 1979; Jensen & Kristensen, 1990).
Populations worldwide generally have a 1:1 sex ratio, but in the Bay of Fundy, the sex ratio was highly skewed towards females. Only 16 - 36% were male and this was not due to higher predation pressure on males by wading birds (Schneider et al., 1994).

Reproduction References

Hughes, 1988, Jensen & Kristensen, 1990, Schneider et al., 1994, Wilson & Parker, 1996, Forbes et al., 1996, Fish & Mills, 1979, Conradi & Depeledge, 1999, McCurdy et al., 2000, Jones and Frid, 2009,