Effects of High-Energy X-Rays on the Reproduction of Urosalpinx cinerea

The oyster drill, Urosalpinx cinerea. was subjected to x-ray dosages of 3000, 9000, and 18,000 roentgens to determine the effects j on reproduction. A dose of 18,00Or applied to male drills significantly reduced the viability of their offspring in two of the experiments. Irradiated females produced either a relatively small number of egg cases or no egg cases at all. They were apparently stimulated to produce the bulk of their total production in a much shorter time than the control females. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRO DUCT I O N............. ....................................... 1 METHODS AND MATERIALS ............................................ 3 RESULTS ................................. 9 General considerations ............... 9 Experiment I ........... 9 Experiment 2 .... 14 Experiment 3 ............. 18 DISCUSSION....... 23 SUMMARY ............................................. 26 LITERATURE CITED................................................. 27 APPENDIX ......................................................... 28