Abstract
This study shows that population structure affects guarding time in the amphipod Eogammarus oclairi Bousfield. In the laboratory, mean guarding time depended on the male weight-frequency distribution, operational sex ratio, and male density. It was longer when the male population encompassed a broad range of weights than when the weight distribution was narrower; however, guarding time did not differ when the population's weight distribution was narrow and composed of either small or large males. Mean guarding time varied between a few hours when the operational sex ratio (male:female) was 1:3 to>7 d when the sex ratio was 2:1. It was also affected by male density, increasing as male density increased. The results suggest that the stimulus to guard depends on the intensity of male-male competition.
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Communicated by N.H. Marcus, Tallahassee
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Iribarne, O., Fernandez, M. & Armstrong, D. Precopulatory guarding-time of the male amphipod Eogammarus oclairi: effect of population structure. Marine Biology 124, 219–223 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347126
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347126