Short-term fluctuation in salinity promotes rapid larval development and metamorphosis in Dendraster excentricus

The effect of constant and fluctuating salinity on larval development and metamorphosis of the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus was investigated in the laboratory. Sand dollar larvae at different stages of development were kept either at 32‰ (controls), exposed to constant low salinity (22‰) throughout development, or exposed to fluctuating salinity (i.e. transferring larvae from 32‰ to 22‰ for 7 days then back to 32‰ for the rest of their development). Larvae exposed to constant low salinity were significantly smaller but developed all larval arms at a slower rate than larvae in all other treatments. Larvae exposed to fluctuating salinity recovered and developed significantly longer larval arms and bigger rudiments than larvae kept at constant low salinity. Larvae exposed to fluctuating salinity produced more juveniles than larvae at constant high salinity (32‰), while those at constant low salinity produced few or no juveniles. Four-arm larvae exposed to fluctuating salinity produced significantly more juveniles than six-arm larvae exposed to the same treatment. Transferring competent 8-arm larvae from 31‰ to 15‰ for 2 days then back to 31‰, induced metamorphosis with juvenile production being significantly higher than for those kept at a constant salinity of 20, 25 and 31‰. This study indicates that a short-term decrease in salinity might induce metamorphosis for this species.