No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods
Although sex ratios close to unity are expected in dioecious species, biased sex ratios are common in nature. It is essential to understand causes of skewed sex ratios in situ, as they can lead to mate limitation and have implications for the success of natural populations. Femaleskewed sex ratios a...
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:304100 2023-05-15T15:48:03+02:00 No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods Mendes Gusmão, Luiz Felipe McKinnon, A. David Richardson, Anthony J. 2013-01-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:304100 eng eng Inter-Research doi:10.3354/meps10265 issn:0171-8630 issn:1616-1599 orcid:0000-0002-9289-7366 ARC LP0883663 2012/20322-0 Sex-specific predation Sex change Environmental sex determination Intersexuality Longevity Prey size Seasonality Sex ratio Zooplankton Chaetognath Sagitta-elegans Prey size spectra Egg-production Selective predation Acartia-tonsa Population-dynamics Aurelia-aurita Chrysaora-quinquecirrha Calanus-finmarchicus Stocking density 1104 Aquatic Science 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 2303 Ecology Journal Article 2013 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10265 2020-12-15T00:08:53Z Although sex ratios close to unity are expected in dioecious species, biased sex ratios are common in nature. It is essential to understand causes of skewed sex ratios in situ, as they can lead to mate limitation and have implications for the success of natural populations. Femaleskewed sex ratios are commonly observed in copepods in situ. Here we discuss the challenges of copepod sex ratio research and provide a critical review of factors determining copepod sex ratios, focusing on 2 main objectives. The first is a critique of the male predation theory, which is currently the main process thought to be responsible for female-skewed sex ratios. It assumes that males have higher mortality because of increased vulnerability to predation during their search for mates. We show that there is little support for the male predation theory, that sex ratios skewed toward females occur in the absence of predation, that sex ratios are not related to predation pressure, and that where sex-skewed predation does occur, it is biased toward females. Our second objective is to suggest alternative hypotheses regarding the determination of sex ratios. We demonstrate that environmental factors, environmental sex determination and sex change have strong effects on copepod sex ratios, and suggest that differential physiological longevity of males and females may be more important in determining sex ratios than previously thought. We suggest that copepod sex ratios are the result of a mixture of factors. Article in Journal/Newspaper Calanus finmarchicus Copepods The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Marine Ecology Progress Series 482 279 298 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Sex-specific predation Sex change Environmental sex determination Intersexuality Longevity Prey size Seasonality Sex ratio Zooplankton Chaetognath Sagitta-elegans Prey size spectra Egg-production Selective predation Acartia-tonsa Population-dynamics Aurelia-aurita Chrysaora-quinquecirrha Calanus-finmarchicus Stocking density 1104 Aquatic Science 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 2303 Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Sex-specific predation Sex change Environmental sex determination Intersexuality Longevity Prey size Seasonality Sex ratio Zooplankton Chaetognath Sagitta-elegans Prey size spectra Egg-production Selective predation Acartia-tonsa Population-dynamics Aurelia-aurita Chrysaora-quinquecirrha Calanus-finmarchicus Stocking density 1104 Aquatic Science 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 2303 Ecology Mendes Gusmão, Luiz Felipe McKinnon, A. David Richardson, Anthony J. No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
topic_facet |
Sex-specific predation Sex change Environmental sex determination Intersexuality Longevity Prey size Seasonality Sex ratio Zooplankton Chaetognath Sagitta-elegans Prey size spectra Egg-production Selective predation Acartia-tonsa Population-dynamics Aurelia-aurita Chrysaora-quinquecirrha Calanus-finmarchicus Stocking density 1104 Aquatic Science 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 2303 Ecology |
description |
Although sex ratios close to unity are expected in dioecious species, biased sex ratios are common in nature. It is essential to understand causes of skewed sex ratios in situ, as they can lead to mate limitation and have implications for the success of natural populations. Femaleskewed sex ratios are commonly observed in copepods in situ. Here we discuss the challenges of copepod sex ratio research and provide a critical review of factors determining copepod sex ratios, focusing on 2 main objectives. The first is a critique of the male predation theory, which is currently the main process thought to be responsible for female-skewed sex ratios. It assumes that males have higher mortality because of increased vulnerability to predation during their search for mates. We show that there is little support for the male predation theory, that sex ratios skewed toward females occur in the absence of predation, that sex ratios are not related to predation pressure, and that where sex-skewed predation does occur, it is biased toward females. Our second objective is to suggest alternative hypotheses regarding the determination of sex ratios. We demonstrate that environmental factors, environmental sex determination and sex change have strong effects on copepod sex ratios, and suggest that differential physiological longevity of males and females may be more important in determining sex ratios than previously thought. We suggest that copepod sex ratios are the result of a mixture of factors. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mendes Gusmão, Luiz Felipe McKinnon, A. David Richardson, Anthony J. |
author_facet |
Mendes Gusmão, Luiz Felipe McKinnon, A. David Richardson, Anthony J. |
author_sort |
Mendes Gusmão, Luiz Felipe |
title |
No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
title_short |
No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
title_full |
No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
title_fullStr |
No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
title_full_unstemmed |
No evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
title_sort |
no evidence of predation causing female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:304100 |
genre |
Calanus finmarchicus Copepods |
genre_facet |
Calanus finmarchicus Copepods |
op_relation |
doi:10.3354/meps10265 issn:0171-8630 issn:1616-1599 orcid:0000-0002-9289-7366 ARC LP0883663 2012/20322-0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10265 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
482 |
container_start_page |
279 |
op_container_end_page |
298 |
_version_ |
1766383047591067648 |