Interaction of rearing temperature and maternal influence on egg development rates and larval size at hatch in yellowtail flounder (Pleuronectes ferrugineus)

We assessed the extent to which temperature interacts with maternal contributions to egg size to affect development time and size of yellowtail flounder (Pleuronectes ferrugineus) larvae at hatch. Maternal effects contributed significantly to differences in egg sizes produced by four females. Eggs from each female were incubated at five temperatures. Development time was most significantly affected by temperature, and female effects were minimal. However, the variance in development time within a population was significantly affected by an interaction between female and temperature effects. Average length at hatch varied significantly among temperatures and females, as did the variance in hatching length within a population. Variance in hatching length explained by maternal effects peaked at intermediate temperatures (similar to 38% explained variance at 7 degrees C), while variance explained by covariation with development time increased linearly with temperature, explaining similar to 40% variance at 13 degrees C. Overall, the nonadditive interaction between maternal contributions and the environment suggests that female effects must be considered over the entire range of environmental conditions experienced by their progeny. In addition, our results support the idea that it is inappropriate to quantify female effects among eggs and extrapolate these differences to larvae.