Members of the Amphinomidae family have been known to reproduce both sexually and asexually (Edmonds et al. 2000).
In polychaetes there are three known methods of sexual reproduction. These are broadcast spawning, copulation and internal fertilization. Whilst no specific study on the sexual reproduction of Eurythoe laevisetis has been completed it has been assumed that, like many others in the Amphinomidae family, it is hermaphroditic (Edmonds et al. 2000). Broadcast spawning is the only method of sexual reproduction that has been confirmed amongst the Eurythoe genus. Broadcast spawning is where eggs and sperm are released into the water column and fertilization occurs externally. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, some researchers believe that the timing of the spawn is related to lunar cycles (Van Veghal 1993).
Since Eurythoe laevisetis is a part of the trochozoan clade any larvae created will be Trochophores. Trochophores are free swimming, planktonic larvae that have an apical tuft and many bands of cilia. Surviving larvae will eventually settle on an appropriate section of the seabed and begin their transition into a juvenile worm (Wanninger & Brinkmann 2010).
Figure 7. Diagram of a trochophore larvae.
Catherine Russo, University of Queensland St. Lucia, 2014 |