BROUSSEAU: REPRODUCTION OF MYTILl'S EDI 'LIS 



1979); reproductive cycles of spatially separated 

 populations differ. Annual variation is more difficult 

 to docume'nt since establishing that this type of varia- 

 tion exists requires long-term, descriptive studies 

 which are often laborious to carry out. Nevertheless, 

 some information is beginning to emerge. 



The dribble spawning which occurred during the 

 winter of 1982 in the Fairfield mussels suggests such 

 annual variation does exist in the M. edulis. Data on 

 European populations also indicate that this species 

 shows a remarkable ability to vary its spawning cycle 

 in response to annual fluctuations in exogenous con- 

 ditions (Bayne 1976). Similarly, data for other 

 shallow water species, such as Mya arenaria 

 (Brousseau 1978) and Petricola pholadiformis 

 (Brousseau 1981), point to the existence of year-to- 

 year variability within populations 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



I wish to thank D. DeBeradinis for technical assis- 

 tance in the field and the histological preparation of 

 some of the material used in this study. 



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