ABSTRACT
The North-East Atlantic feather-star Antedon bifida maintains a high level of gonad maturity throughout the seasonal cycle, yet spawns only at a precise period in the cycle. All individuals lose a proportion (mean? 17%) of their pinnules, with subsequent regeneration, and the gonads are a likely attraction. The Corkwing Wrasse, Crenilabrus melops, feeds on the pinnules, while ignoring the calyx, suggesting that the studied population of Antedon has adopted a strategy of preferential sacrifice of gonad tissue.
