Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T03:15:17.217Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of body size, ownership and sex-ratio on the precopulatory mate guarding of Caprella penantis (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2009

Fumio Takeshita  and
Yasuhisa Henmi
Fumio Takeshita*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Fisheries Science, Hokkaido University, Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan
Yasuhisa Henmi
Affiliation:
Aitsu Marine Station, Center for Marine Environment Studies, Kumamoto University, Matsushima, Kami-Amakusa, Kumamoto 861-6102, Japan
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F. Takeshita, Graduate School of Fisheries Science, Hokkaido University, Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Precopulatory mate guarding behaviour of the skeleton shrimp Caprella penantis is described. Moreover, the effects of body size, ownership and sex-ratio on mate guarding were examined experimentally in the laboratory. In the field population, the operational sex-ratio was male-biased. Guarding pairs, which were collected from the field, continued guarding for an average of 350 minutes in the laboratory, indicating that the normal guarding duration is approximately 10 hours. In this species, two guarding types were found: Type O and Type I-like. In Type O guarding, the male would fold the female into a horseshoe shape, whilst the male held the female parallel to him in Type I-like guarding. In the laboratory experiments, male body size was the most important factor affecting competition for a receptive female; ownership was the secondary factor. Guarding duration was prolonged when the sex-ratio was male-biased. Thus, the precopulatory mate guarding behaviour of C. penantis is influenced by several factors, such as body size, ownership and sex-ratio.

Keywords

precopulatory mate guardingsex-ratioguarding durationCaprella penantis
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 90 , Issue 2 , March 2010 , pp. 275 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aoki, M. (1996) Precopulatory mate guarding behavior of caprellid amphipods observed in Amakusa, Kyushu, Japan. Publications from the Amakusa Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyushu University 12, 71–78.Google Scholar
Aoki, M. (1997) Comparative study of mother–young association in caprellid amphipods: is maternal care effective? Journal of Crustacean Biology 17, 447–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoki, M. (1999) Morphological characteristics of young, maternal care behaviour and microhabitat use by caprellid amphipods. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 79, 629–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bynum, K.H. (1978) Reproductive biology of Caprella penantis Leach, 1814 (Amphipoda: Caprellidae) in North Carolina, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Science 7, 473–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bynum, K.H. (1980) Multivariate assessment of morphological variation in Caprella penantis Leach, 1814 (Amphipoda: Caprellidae). Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Science 10, 225–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caine, E.A. (1979) Population structures of two species of caprellid amphipods (Crustacea). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 40, 103–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caine, E.A. (1991) Reproductive behavior and sexual dimorphism of a caprellid amphipod. Journal of Crustacean Biology 11, 56–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conlan, K.E. (1991) Precopulatory mating behavior and sexual dimorphism in the amphipod Crustacea. Hydrobiologia 223, 255–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cothran, R.D. (2004) Precopulatory mate guarding affects predation risk in two freshwater amphipod species. Animal Behaviour 68, 1133–1138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dick, J.T.A. and Elwood, R.W. (1996) Effects of natural variation in sex ratio and habitat structure on mate-guarding decisions in amphipods (Crustacea). Behaviour 133, 985–996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grafen, A. and Ridley, M. (1983) A model of mate guarding. Journal of Theoretical Biology 102, 549–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guerra-García, J.M., Redondo-Gómez, S., Espina, A.G., Castillo, J.M., Luque, T., García-Gomez, J.C. and Figueroa, M.E. (2006) Caprella penantis Leach, 1814 and Caprella dilatata Krøyer, 1843 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the Strait of Gibraltar: a molecular approach to explore intra- and interspecific variation. Marine Biology Research 2, 100–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, W.S., Stevens, M. and Walting, L. (2001) Reproduction and development of marine peracaridans. Advances in Marine Biology 39, 105–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jormalainen, V. (1998) Precopulatory mate guarding in crustaceans: male competitive strategy and intersexual conflict. Quarterly Review of Biology 73, 275–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamio, M., Matsunaga, S. and Fusetani, N. (2003) Observation on the mating behaviour of the helmet crab Telmessus cheiragonus (Brachyura: Cheiragonidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83, 1007–1013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewbel, G.S. (1978) Sexual dimorphism and intraspecific aggression, and their relationship to sex ratios in Caprella gorgonia Laubitz & Lewbel (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 33, 133–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, S.T.A. and Alexander, C.G. (1986) Reproductive behaviour of the caprellid amphipod, Caprella scaura typica, Mayer 1890. Marine Behaviour and Physiology 12, 217–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manning, J.T. (1980) Sex ratio and optimal male time investment strategies in Asellus aquaticus (L.) and A. meridianus Rancovitza. Behaviour 74, 264–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, G.A. (1974) Courtship persistence and female-guarding as male time investment strategies. Behaviour 48, 157–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridley, M. (1983) The explanation of organic diversity: the comparative method and adaptations for mating. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Schulz, M.K. and Alexander, C.G. (2001) Aggressive behavior of Caprella scaura typica Mayer, 1980 (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 34, 181–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strong, D.R. Jr. (1973) Amphipod amplexus, the significance of ecotypic variation. Ecology 54, 1383–1388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wada, S., Tanaka, K. and Goshima, S. (1999) Precopulatory mate guarding in the hermit crab Pagurus middendorffii (Brandt) (Decapoda: Paguridae): effects of population parameters on male guarding duration. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 239, 289–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, P.I. (1983) Advantages and a disadvantage of large size for male Gammarus pulex (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 14, 69–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamamura, N. (1987) A model on correlation between precopulatory guarding and short receptivity to copulation. Journal of Theoretical Biology 127, 171–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar