Open AccessThe effect of temperature on the egg incubation period of Capnia bifrons (Plecoptera: Capniidae) from Windermere (English Lake District)
Author(s) -
Elliott J. M.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
ecography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.973
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1600-0587
pISSN - 0906-7590
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0587.1986.tb01199.x
Subject(s) - hatching , incubation , egg incubation , biology , incubation period , ecology , lake district , zoology , geography , biochemistry , archaeology
Gravid females of Capnia bifrons (Newman) from Windermere (English Lake District) were almost completely ovoviviparous, the eggs hatching within 15 min after oviposition in the water. When kept in the laboratory at constant temperatures between 3.8 and 19.8°C, few females survived to lay eggs at temperatures above 12.1°C. The relationship between air temperature (T°C) and the egg incubation period (Y days between fertilisation and oviposition) was given by the regression equation: Y = 316.4 T −0.9996 (r 2 = 0.957, p < 0.001). This equation successfully predicted egg incubation periods for gravid females kept in cages in the field. Comparisons with similar studies on four non‐ovoviviparous species of Plecoptera showed that egg development was rarely more rapid in C. bifrons . It was also shown that the hypothesis of ovoviviparity being an adaptation to combat low water temperatures could be rejected for C. bifrons from Windermere.