Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2013
Journal
Journal Of Shellfish Research
Volume
32
Issue
2
First Page
387
Last Page
390
Abstract
Oysters, like the vast majority of sessile marine invertebrates, shed sperm and eggs into the water column where fertilization subsequently occurs. The fate of the gametes depends on their passive movements at various scales in a high-viscosity environment, the longevity of the sperm's ability to affect oriented movement, the rate of sperm movement toward the egg target, and the ability of sperm to effect fertilization. Oyster sperm swim in a helical pattern with a mean forward progression velocity of 0.057 +/- 0.010 mm/sec (SE; n = 25) with the 95 percentile range extending from 0.036-0.078 mm/sec, a value comparable with that reported for echinoderm sperm.
DOI
10.2983/035.032.0218
Keywords
Sperm Swimming Speed; Oyster; Crassostrea Virginica
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Sponsor
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office [NA06NMF4570246]
Recommended Citation
Mann, Roger L. and Luckenbach, Mark, Sperm Swimming Speeds In The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica (Gmelin, 1791) (2013). Journal Of Shellfish Research, 32(2), 387-390.
10.2983/035.032.0218
