title: Reproductive biology of the sea anemone shrimp Periclimenesrathbunae (Caridea, Palaemonidae, Pontoniinae), from the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.
abstract: Caridean shrimps are a highly diverse group and many species form symbiotic relationships with different marine invertebrates. Periclimenesrathbunae is a brightly colored shrimp that lives predominantly in association with sea anemones. Information about the reproductive ecology of the species is scarce. Therefore, we collected 70 ovigerous females inhabiting the sun sea anemone Stichodactylahelianthus in coral reefs from the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Females produced on average 289 ± 120 embryos. The volume of recently-produced embryos was on average 0.038 mm(3), and embryo volume increased by 192% during the incubation period. The average embryo mortality during embryogenesis was 24%. The reproductive output was 0.24 ± 0.094, considerably higher than in many other pontoniine shrimps. Females carrying embryos close to hatching showed fully developed ovaries, suggesting consecutive spawning. We assume that the sheltered habitat, living on sea anemones, allows Periclimenesrathbunae to allocate more energy in embryo production than most other free-living caridean shrimps. This is the first record of Periclimenesrathbunae for Costa Rica.
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Azofeifa-Solano
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elizondo-Coto
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San José, Costa Rica ; Unidad de Investigación Pesquera y Acuicultura (UNIP), Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San José, Costa Rica ; Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Ingo S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Wehrtmann
keywords: Coral reefs; fecundity; new record; reproductive output; symbioses