Size-associated Variation and Factors Affecting the Morphology of Brown Bodies in Glycera tridactyla (Polychaeta:Glyceridae)

Size-associated variations in brown body morphology (size and shape) were studied from the individuals of Glycera tridactyla. Variables related to size, length (BL) and width (BW) of the brown bodies were measured. On the basis of these measurements, other variables such as the surface area (SA), volume (V), surface area/volume ratio (SA/V) and elongation degree (ED) were calculated. Brown body shape was quantified by the elongation degree. The immature brown bodies were significantly smaller than the mature bodies, and therefore the smaller bodies had a higher SA/V. Results obtained from the ...