SKELETAL GROWTH MARKERS IN THE DEEP-SEA BRITTLE STARS OPHIURA-LJUNGMANI AND OPHIOMUSIUM-LYMANI

Growth bands have been found in the calcitic vertebral arm ossicles of the commonly occurring deep-sea brittle stars Ophiura ljungmani Wyville Thomson and Ophiomusium lymani (Lyman) (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) trawled from the Rockall Trough (N.E. Atlantic) at 2 200 and 2 900 m depth from 1973 to 1982. In Ophiura ljungmani, the study of ossicle microstructure by SEM shows that growth bands reflect differences in stereom porosity and surface relief, similar to that previously found amongst shallow-water brittle stars. The pattern in Ophiomusium lymani was much less clear from the microstructure, but could be revealed by heating the ossicle to 450 °C and "clearing" in xylene. The bands showed up as fine, translucent rings separated by more opaque, wider zones, perhaps reflecting differences in organic material incorporated within the calcite. Both growth-banding patterns probably reflect an annual cycle in skeletal growth rate. On this assumption, the number and spacing of the banding in the two species indicates contrasting growth strategies. With Ophiura ljungmani, a rather regular annual growth increment and perhaps shorter lifespan (up to ca. 10 yr) than Ophiomusium lymani is indicated. The latter shows a relatively wide spacing of early bands, followed by tight clustering of the outermost bands corresponding to adult sizes. This growth pattern is characteristic of species "escaping" from predation by rapid growth to relatively large adult size. Adult O. lymani probably grow slowly, some perhaps reaching 20 yr of age. Growth curves were fitted to size-at-age corresponding to measurements of the size and ordering of growth bands. These corroborate age structure previously estimated from analysis of size frequencies in time series from the stations sampled in the present study. Such skeletal growth markers should be of value in analysis of the demography of deep-sea populations. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.