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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(11)

Batch or trickle: understanding the multiple spawning strategy of southern calamary, Sepioteuthis australis (Mollusca : Cephalopoda)

Matthew R. Kuipers A B D , Gretta T. Pecl C and Natalie A. Moltschaniwskyj A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Aquaculture, Tasmania Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 1370, Launceston, Tas. 7250, Australia.

B National Centre for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability, Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag 1370, Launceston, Tas. 7250, Australia.

C Marine Research Laboratories, Tasmania Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 49, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: kuipersm@utas.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(11) 987-997 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07200
Submitted: 25 October 2007  Accepted: 12 August 2008   Published: 27 November 2008

Abstract

Many cephalopods are ‘multiple spawners’; however, we know little about the timing and dynamics of egg production. This has implications for the allocation of energy to reproduction, lifetime fecundity and subsequent recruitment. The current study aimed to determine if Sepioteuthis australis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1832), which spawns multiple times, produces mature oocytes for deposition in a continuous trickle or in larger discrete batches. Throughout a spawning season, developmental stages were assigned to the ovaries of each female by combining macroscopic and histological analyses of the oocytes. Half of the females (46%) showed a significant peak in oocytes at one of the maturation stages, indicating that females were developing eggs in batches. It was hypothesised that the remaining females were also batch spawning, given that the oviduct weights of the remaining females (54%) were high and the other measured biological characteristics were similar to those of the females showing a peak in oocyte stage. Average batch fecundity declined over the 3-month spawning season, but total egg numbers in the ovary increased, suggesting that females might have deposited small batches more often during December. As reproduction requires large allocations of energy, understanding how females distribute reproductive effort throughout their lives is crucial to understanding the behaviour of populations, individuals and their offspring.

Additional keywords: cephalopod, egg, oocyte, ova, ovary, reproduction.


Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Ty Hibberd and to the commercial fishers who volunteered their assistance in the collection of animals. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (LP0347556), DPIWE, the Tasmanian Recreational Fishery Trust and the Tasmanian Commercial Calamary Fishers. All squid were taken under DPIWE permit number 5021 and this research complies with the current collection laws and code of animal ethics of the University of Tasmania. Thanks also to the referees who provided valuable comments and suggestions during the publishing process.


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