Life history di cinque specie simpatriche del genere Ophryotrocha (Annelida, Dorvilleidae)

Marine annelids belonging to the Ophryotrocha genus have proven to be valid models in several fields of biological sciences. Eight species of Ophryotrocha were found along the Italian coast, but their distribution is very different. In the present paper we examined the life history of five sympatric species (O. adherens, O. diadema, O. labronica, O. robusta and O. puerilis) collected from Porto Empedocle (Strait of Sicily) looking for differentiation patterns which can be correlated with species distribution. Life history traits of the F1 generation such as body size and growth, biological cycle and reproductive traits were analysed. Three life history patterns based on the maximum body length, egg size, age at first deposition, reproductive investment (RI) and RI per deposition were identified, but they do not seem related to the distribution of the five species.