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Sex size ratios and their influence on mating success in a calanoid copepod
Author(s) -
Grad Gabriella,
Maly Edward J.
Publication year - 1988
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.1988.33.6part2.1629
Subject(s) - spermatophore , biology , copepod , mating , sex ratio , fecundity , ecology , zoology , avian clutch size , crustacean , reproduction , demography , population , sociology
Mating experiments with 182 individual pairs of Diaptomus birgei Marsh were videotaped in the laboratory. The following were measured and scored: attempted capture of the female by the male, time to successful capture and mounting, duration of copulation, spermatophore placement, time to clutch extrusion, metasomal lengths of all individuals, and sex size ratios (female: male lengths) of all pairs. The percentages of successful copulation and clutch formation were highest between sex size ratios of 1.15 and 1.23. The average sex size ratio of 1.20 is apparently selected for, since it was relatively constant over time in the observed natural populations.