Boring life: early colony formation and growth in the endolithic bryozoan genus Penetrantia Silen, 1946.

ABSTRACT: As in most colonial and sessile marine invertebrates, bryozoan life history is characterized by asexual propagation of zooids for colonial growth and by sexual production of larvae for dispersal. However, comprehensive life histories, particularly in cryptic species such as endolithic (boring) bryozoans, remain poorly understood. The ctenostome family Penetrantiidae is widespread from temperate to tropical waters and often found in molluscan shells, offering an opportunity to study the boring lifestyle and its potential impact on bioerosion through growth and settlement experiments. Our research focused on Penetrantia clionoides from Guam in the Pacific Ocean, Penetrantia japonica from Japan, and a Penetrantia species from France in the Atlantic Ocean. We found distinct life histories and

SUBMITTER: Decker SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11179354 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature