Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2009
So few data are available concerning polychaete fecundity that recent speculation about the relative advantages of different life-history ‘strategies’, and about the relative value of protected and unprotected larval development, has been almost completely abstract. The dangers of this approach have been clearly indicated by Stearns (1976) in his recent review. Until quantitative studies are made of the number and weight of gametes produced in relation to the weight of individuals for a range of species, there seems little basis for discussion of the problems mentioned above.