University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 1966 LIFE HISTORY, MORPHOLOGY, AND SALINITY TOLERANCE OF THE AMPHARETID POLYCHAETE AMPHICTEIS FLORIDUS, HARTMAN 1951 ROBERT ANTHONY ZOTTOLI Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation ZOTTOLI, ROBERT ANTHONY, "LIFE HISTORY, MORPHOLOGY, AND SALINITY TOLERANCE OF THE AMPHARETID POLYCHAETE AMPHICTEIS FLORIDUS, HARTMAN 1951" (1966). Doctoral Dissertations. 841. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/841 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 67-170 ZOTTOLI, Robert Anthony, 1939- LIFE HISTORY, MORPHOLOGY, AND SALINITY TOLERANCE OF THE AMPHARETID POLYCHAETE AMPHICTEIS FLORIDUS HARTMAN 1951. University of New Hampshire, Ph.D., 1966 Zoology University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan LIFE HISTORY, MORPHOLOGY, AND SALINITY TOLERANCE OF THE AMPHARETID POLYCHAETE AMPHICTEIS FLORIDUS HARTMAN 1951 BY ROBERT ANTHONY ZOTTOLI B.A., Bowdoin College, 1960 M.S., University of New Hampshire, 1963 A THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire In partial fulfillment of The requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate School Department of Zoology June, 1966 This thesis has been examined and approved. April 15, 1966 Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Emery F. Swan for his guidance in the preparation of the dissertation and to the other members of the doctoral committee, Dr. George M. Moore, Dr. Arthur C. Borror, Dr. Albion R. Hodgdon, and Dr. Arthur E. Teeri, for giving generously of their time. Dr. Arthur C. Borror deserves additional thanks for help in editing the dissertation. Dr. Marian H. Pettibone formerly associated with the University of New Hampshire and now Associate Curator, Division of Worms, at the Smithsonian Institution, and Dr. Olga Hartman of the Allan Hancock Foundation deserve special thanks for their interest and advice. Summer fellowships received from the University of New Hampshire in 1963 and from the George F. Dwinnel Memorial Fellowship Fund of the New Hampshire Cancer Society, Inc., in 1964 enabled me to devote full time to this research throughout those two summers. Finally I wish to express my appreciation to my wife, Margaret, without whom this work would not have been possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ..................................iii LIST OF T A B L E S .................................viii I. INTRODUCTION.........................................1 II. THE FAMILY AMPHARETIDAE AND ITS GENERA.............. 5 III. MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................. 24 IV. GENERAL MORPHOLOGY............................... 2 8 V. THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM ........................... 40 VI. THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM . .................... 72 VII. REPRODUCTION AND LARVAL DEVELOPMENT ............ 110 VIII. SALINITY TOLERANCE................................ 146 IX. GENERAL DISCUSSION................................ 148 LITERATURE C I T E D ................................ 151 APPENDIX Formulary of Procedures and Stains . .160 ii LIST OF FIGURES* Number Page 1. Trilobed prostomium ..... ............... 16 2 . Dorsal surface showing the arrangement of branchiae...................................... 16 3. Near-sagittal section of the anterior end with tentacles everted ..................... 18 4. Near-sagittal section of the anterior end with tentacles retracted ................... 20 5. Limbate capillary seta of Amphicteis gunneri. 22 6 . Paleal seta of Amphicteis g u n n e r i ..............22 7. Smooth capillary seta of Neosabellides o c e a n i c a ...................................... 22 8 . Dorsal hook of Melinna palmata ................22 9. Thoracic uncinus of Ampharete grubei. Lateral v i e w ..................................22 10. Thoracic uncinus of Amphicteis procera. Dorsal v i e w ....................................22 11. Abdominal uncinus of Amphicteis procera. Dorsal view .................................... 22 12. Dorsal view of the anterior portion of Melinna cristata ........................... 23 13. Dorsal hook of Melinna cristata ..............23 * Unless indicated otherwise in the legend, the dorsal surface of line drawings will be toward the right and the anterior portion toward the top. Except where indicated otherwise all figures are of Amphicteis floridus iii 14. Uncinus of the same s p e c i e s .................... 23 15. Lateral view in which branchiae of the left side have been r e m o v e d ....................... 36 16. Uncini of the right twelfth thoracic setiger. 37 17. Uncini of the right sixth abdominal segment . 37 18. Anterior right nephridium dissected out . 38 19. Right notopodium of a 18— setiger larval stage showing the muscles which operate the setal s a c ...................................... 38 20. Cross section at the junction between the fourth and fifth segments ................... 39 21. Diagrammatic dorsal view of the dorsal vessel 58 22. Cross section of the ventral ciliated groove at the mid-portion of the stomach ............. 60 23. Lateral view through the transparent body wall showing blood vessels in the anterior thoracic region........................... 62 24. Lateral view through the transparent body wall showing blood vessels in the posterior thoracic and anterior abdominal regions................. 64 25. Diagrammatic ventral view of the anterior portion of the blood sinus..................... 65 26. Diagrammatic dorsal view of the oesophageal surface showing blood vessels arising from the annular vessel..............................67 27. Diagrammatic ventral view of the oesophagus showing blood vessels arising from the annular vessel.................................. 68 28. Diagrammatic dorsal view of the anterior portion of the ventral vessel ................. 70 iv 29. A single dorso-pedal vessel from the anterior thoracic region of Amphicteis gunneri ........ 71 30. Fused dorso-pedal vessels from the posterior thoracic region of Amphicteis gunneri .... 71 31. Dorso-pedal vessel of Melinna palmata .... 71 32. Cross section of a tentacle..................... 96 33. Cell types of the upper l i p ..................... 97 34. Cell type of the oe s o p h a g u s ................... 97 35. Cell types of the stomach .............97 36. Near-sagittal section of the buccal mass. 98 37. Near-sagittal section of the gastric and lateral invaginations ......................... 98 38. Near-sagittal section of the lower lip and buccal m a s s .......................................... 100 39. Cross section through the anterior thoracic r e g i o n ........................................ 100 40. Near-sagittal section of the junction between the stomach and oesophagus ................... 101 41. Near-sagittal section of the dorsal vessel and the dorsal portion of the body wall ..... .103 42. Cross section the dorsal mid-intestine . .105 43. Stomach, intestine, and rectum. The dorsal portion of the stomach is cut away to show lateral and gastric invaginations............. 107 44. Cross section of the mid-abdominal region . .107 45. Cross section of the posterior portion of the stomach .................................... 109 v 46. Unfertilized e g g .............................. 133 47. Two-cell stage ................................ 133 48. Coeloblastula. Dorsal view ..................135 49. Early trochophore. Dorsal view ..............135 50. Early trochophore. Ventral v i e w ..............135 51. Late trochophore. Dorsal v i e w ................137 52. Late trochophore. Lateral view ..............137 53. One-setiger stage. Dorsal v i e w ................139 54. Two-setiger stage. Dorsal view ................139 55. Three-setiger stage. Dorsal v i e w ............. 140 56. The first two notopods and accompanying setae of a three-setiger stage. Dorsal view . .140 57. Larval uncinus. Lateral view ..................140 58. Larval uncinus. Dorsal view ..................140 59. Four-setiger stage. Dorsal v i e w ..............141 60. Five-setiger stage. Dorsal view ..............141 61. Seven-setiger stage. Lateral view ........... 142 62. Anterior end of the above specimen showing the single ciliated tentacle .... .142 63. Eight-setiger stage. Dorsal view ........... 143 64. Ten-setiger stage. Dorsal v i e w ................143 65. Twelve-setiger stage compressed slightly. Ventral v i e w ................................. 144 6 6 . Four teen-setiger stage. Ventral view .... .144 vi 67. Sixteen-setiger stage. Lateral view .... .145 6 8 . Anterior portion of the above specimen . .145 vii LIST OF TABLES Number Page 1. The number of adult uncini per uncinigerous pinnule in one sexually mature female 7 mm long and 1 mm wide .................................... 33 2. Distribution of nephridial cell types and measurements ...... 34 3. Distribution and measurements of cell types of the buccal c a v i t y .......... 92 4. Distribution and measurements of cell types of the oesophagus and stomach ......................... 93 5. Distribution and measurements of cell types of the intestine and r e c t u m ..............................94 6 . The number of smooth capillary