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A food‐independent maturation threshold and size at maturity in Daphnia magna
Author(s) -
Ebert Dieter
Publication year - 1992
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.1992.37.4.0878
Subject(s) - daphnia magna , maturity (psychological) , biology , daphnia , cladocera , branchiopoda , life history , clone (java method) , zoology , ecology , genetics , gene , crustacean , chemistry , toxicity , psychology , developmental psychology , organic chemistry
Age and size at maturity are among the key traits of life‐history evolution in Daphnia. Growth data from one clone of Daphnia magna show that there is a threshold size above which maturation is initiated. This threshold mechanism regulates body length at maturity at the cost of age at maturity. A model explains how the threshold accounts for large variation in age and size at maturity.