Reproduction in the cirratulid polychaetes Dodecaceria concharum and D. pulchra

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Abstract
D.concharum known for its parthenogenetic reproduction, was found to spawn throughout the year with a slight increase in the spring. From rearing individuals in the laboratory the species appear to grow slowly, and to take at least two years to reach a size at which spawning occurs. D. pulchra is also parthenogenetic but has a peak spawning in the late autumn. Unlike D. concharum, it reproduces asexually in the winter by fragmenting into anterior and posterior halves which regenerate their missing regions. A small proportion of worms also produce fragments of a few segments from the central region of the body. All worms appear to fragment at some point in their lives prior to gametogenesis.

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