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Variation in sexual size differentiation in North American diaptomids (Copepoda: Calanoida): Does variation in the degree of dimorphism have ecological significance?
Author(s) -
Geddes Michael C.,
Cole Gerald A.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1981.26.2.0367
Subject(s) - sexual dimorphism , calanoida , intraspecific competition , variation (astronomy) , biology , ecology , degree (music) , zoology , crustacean , copepod , physics , astrophysics , acoustics
There is considerable intraspecific variation in the degree of sexual dimorphism in species of Diaptomus. The ratio of female length to male length in 42 species of Diaptomus varied only from 1.02 to 1.23 and did not reflect ecological differences between species. It is concluded that North American diaptomids do not show patterns of dimorphism like those of freshwater centropagids in Australia.