BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Talitrus saltator

Researched by

Georgina Budd

Data supplied by

MarLIN

Refereed by

This information is not refereed.

Reproduction/Life History

Reproductive type

Gonochoristic

Developmental mechanism

Ovoviviparous

Reproductive Season

May to August

Reproductive Location

As adult

Reproductive frequency

Annual episodic

Regeneration potential

Life span

1-2 years

Age at reproductive maturity

<1 year

Generation time

<1 year

Fecundity

Up to 15 eggs per brood

Egg/propagule size

Not relevant

Fertilization type

Internal

Larvae/Juveniles
Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential	10-100m	Larval settlement period	Not relevant
Duration of larval stage	Not relevant

Reproduction Preferences Additional Information

Sexes are separate. It is possible to distinguish between sexes in specimens with a body length between 8.0 and 8.5 mm (Williams, 1978). For a description of embryonic development in Talitrus saltator see Williams (1978, Figure 1). All eggs within a single brood are at the same stage of morphological development. For a female of 12.6 mm length the mean number of eggs per brood is 13, larger females may carry a slightly larger brood of 15.
As in all crustaceans, mating and the release of juveniles, are synchronised with the moult cycle. Adults pair during their nightly migration down the beach and mate in the sand once the female has completed her moult. In the Isle of Man, Williams (1978) first caught egg bearing females in samples during May with high reproductive activity occurring between May and late August so that by September all brood pouches were found to be empty. This breeding cycle is in contrast to those of other intertidal amphipods and isopods (Hayward, 1994) in that the breeding period is shorter and controlled by day length (Talitrus saltator breeds when the natural day length is in excess of 14 hours (Williams, 1985)) irrespective of air and sea temperature (Williams, 1978). Williams (1978) found two generations to be present over a year and females died during their second over-wintering period, before the males. Williams (1978) calculated the life span of females to be ca 18 months and 21 months for males. Juveniles become sexually differentiated within three to four months of hatching and do not contribute to a precocious, secondary breeding population in the summer, they usually reach maturity by the autumn and do not breed until the following summer. The over-wintering population consists of young adults, with an additional number of juveniles arising from the last brood of the season and a few large sexually mature adults that were the last to breed. Such adults die in February, so that the young adults and maturing juveniles that overwintered, constitute the new breeding population (Williams, 1987; Hayward, 1994).

Reproduction References

Williams, 1978, Hayward, 1994, Williams, 1985,