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All,<br><br>
A colleague of mine, Gordon Hendler, who works on echinoderms, asked me
to forward the questions below to the list. Please reply directly
to Gordon at hendler@nhm.org.<br><br>
Thanks,<br>
Kirk<br><br>
<b>Kirk, Thanks for offering to forward two questions to your colleagues.
<br>
1) I would like to know whether any polychaetes develop gonads or gametes
precociously -- in the larval or juvenile phase of their life cycle. Is
it correct to state that:<br>
“After undergoing metamorphosis, polychaetes must feed, grow, and develop
specialized reproductive structures before they can reproduce (Schroeder
and Hermans, 1975; Fauchald, 1983). Even the smallest paedomorphic
polychaete species passes through a non-reproductive juvenile stage
(Eibye-Jacobson and Kristensen (1994). Consequently, many polychaetes do
not reproduce until reaching 0.5-4.5 years (McHugh and Fong, 2002).”<br>
2) I would also be interested to know if there are any polychaetes in
which males, females, or both sexes do not feed as adults and die after
reproducing (similarly to Ephemeroptera).<br>
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions and corrections.<br>
Gordon<br><br>
</b>********************************************<br>
Gordon Hendler, Ph.D.<br>
Curator of Echinoderms<br>
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County<br>
900 Exposition Boulevard<br>
Los Angeles, California 90007 U.S.A.<br>
Voice: 213 763 3526 <br>
Fax: 213 746 2999<br>
******************************************** <br>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>
J. Kirk Fitzhugh, Ph.D.<br>
Curator of Polychaetes<br>
Invertebrate Zoology Section<br>
Research & Collections Branch<br>
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County <br>
900 Exposition Blvd<br>
Los Angeles CA 90007<br><br>
Phone: 213-763-3233<br>
FAX:<x-tab> </x-tab> 213-746-2999<br>
e-mail: kfitzhug@nhm.org<br>
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