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An early temperature‐sensitive period for the plasticity of segment number in the centipede Strigamia maritima
Author(s) -
Vedel Vincent,
Apostolou Zivkos,
Arthur Wallace,
Akam Michael,
Brena Carlo
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
evolution and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.651
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1525-142X
pISSN - 1520-541X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-142x.2010.00421.x
Subject(s) - centipede , biology , blastoderm , hatchling , period (music) , population , zoology , embryo , ecology , embryogenesis , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , demography , physics , sociology , hatching , acoustics
SUMMARY Geophilomorph centipedes show variation in segment number (a) between closely related species and (b) within and between populations of the same species. We have previously shown for a Scottish population of the coastal centipede Strigamia maritima that the temperature of embryonic development is one of the factors that affects the segment number of hatchlings, and hence of adults, as these animals grow epimorphically—that is, without postembryonic addition of segments. Here, we show, using temperature‐shift experiments, that the main developmental period during which embryos are sensitive to environmental temperature is surprisingly early, during blastoderm formation and before, or very shortly after, the onset of segmentation.