Like Mother Like Daughter? Development Stages Over Time in the Hybrid Larvae of Dendraster excentricus​ and ​Strongylocentrotus purpuratus​ as Compared to Developmental Milestones of Both Parents

Abstract

Hybridization in individuals can happen across varying levels of taxonomic relation; within species, genus, family, and orders in plants and animals. Although the more distinctly separate a relationship is between individuals in a hybridization event, the less biological fitness the resulting hybrid will have. Through the methodologies of rearing the hybrid larvae of the cross ​Dendraster excentricus​ ​female​ and ​Strongylocentrotus purpuratus​ ​male,​ observations of developmental progress across stages of both echinoids are made, and have been documented by previous studies. This study found no clear relationship between developmental stages reached in experimental hybrid larvae as compared to expected development stages in either parental donors. By asking if development in the cross of ​D. excentricus​ and ​S. purpuratus​ is parentally influenced, this study aims to make contributions to the lesser known ​in vitro​ fertilization and larval rearing processes of sand dollar and urchin hybrids.