Meeting Abstract
P2.153 Saturday, Jan. 5 Brooding behavior, hatching plasticity and intrafamilial conflict in the poecilogonous polychaete Boccardia wellingtonensis OYARZUN, FX*; BRANTE, A; Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción; Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción fernanda.oyarzun@gmail.com
Within families of sexually reproducing species, conflicts of interest are expected to arise given that the optimal distribution of parental resources is different for parents and offspring and among siblings. Previous work done in the poecilogonous polychaete Boccardia proboscidea showed that mothers could control the degree of sibling cannibalism via pre- but mainly post- zygotic decisions via nurse egg allocation and control of hatching time. In this research we explore the Southern Hemisphere species B. wellingtonensis, which resembles B. proboscidea in size, morphology, ecology and reproductive strategy, but differs in capsule morphology and structure. Capsule interconnectivity could potentially increase opportunities for sibling competition and cannibalism and its structure could allow larvae to hatch unaided. We used a combination of common garden experiments, video recordings, in vitro manipulations, and field sampling of three geographically separated populations to test if B. wellingtonensis had both greater scope for sibling conflict and decreased maternal control over the embryos once capsules have been deposited. We found, similarly to B. proboscidea, predetermined larval fates, sibling cannibalism, and active brooding behavior. Mothers mediated hatching, but the differences in capsule structure resulted in a less precise manipulation of capsules than B. proboscidea, and frequent accidental partial hatching during the brooding period. Capsule interconnectivity did increase opportunities for sibling cannibalism, but a wider range of sibling size mediated by nurse egg allocation limited the amount of cannibalism that took place. We compare the variation found in reproductive traits among populations for both species and discuss its implication for the resolution of intrafamilial conflict.
