Meeting Abstract
Intertidal organisms, like the porcelain crab, regularly experience thermal stress. P. cinctipes inhabits the upper-mid intertidal zone and is often exposed during low tides. Increased abiotic stressors may interfere with many aspects of this organisms’ physiology, including reproduction. Reproductive activity can be measured through the quantification of the yolk protein vitellogenin (Vg), found in hemolymph. ELISA for P. cinctipes allowed for quantification of Vg in hemolymph. Monthly Vg sampling of P. cinctipes revealed depressed reproduction around the summer solstice. Reproduction may be dependent on environmental variables such as temperature or day length. To examine this, P. cinctipes were collected monthly over the course of a year. After a pre-treatment hemolymph sample, crabs underwent treatment to examine effects of day length and temperature. Following two-weeks of exposure, a second hemolymph sample was drawn. Pre and post treatment hemolymph samples were analyzed for Vg levels by ELISA. Crabs collected near the summer solstice sustained low levels of Vg after exposure to thermal stress. Long day thermal stress conditions caused Vg production to decline in crabs collected during the winter solstice. Additionally, this species was found to respond to changes in the lunar cycle for Vg regulation. These data suggest that P. cinctipes rely on multiple environmental cues in regulating reproduction, and minute changes in environmental conditions could interfere with this physiological process.
