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Breeding phenology, variation in reproductive effort and offspring size in a tropical population of the woodlouse Porcellionides pruinosus

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Summary

Most species of woodlice in temperate habitats have discrete breeding seasons. It is hypothesised that breeding synchronises with favourable environmental conditions to maximise offspring growth and survivorship (Willows 1984). We measured the breeding phenology of a species introduced to a tropical environment, primarily to consider the assumption that life histories in the tropics will differ fundamentally from those in temperate habitats. In addition to breeding phenology we considered variation in reproductive effort between individual females and the division of this effort between the size and number of young.

A continuous breeding phenology was observed in a synanthropic population of Porcellionides pruinosus within the tropics. Reproductive effort varied between months, showed a weak relationship with female size and was independent of female fecundity. Female sizefecundity relationships varied between samples and when the proportion of reproductive females was high size-fecundity slopes were steeper than at other times. Mean offspring size varied between months and there was a wide range in offspring size within broods. Offspring size was not related to female body mass, reproductive effort or fecundity; consequently brood mass increased linearly with an increase in fecundity. Increased reproductive effort goes into more rather than larger offspring.

We propose that the continuous breeding in this population was the result of the constant presence of an environmental cue to reproduction evolved in temperate habitats. Continuous breeding is not necessarily equivocal to high individual reproductive success even though overall population growth may be rapid. However, variation in reproductive effort suggests that individuals respond to current environmental conditions on short time scales.

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Author notes

  1. J. M. Dangerfield

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Botswana, P. Bag 0022, Caborone, Botswana

  2. S. R. Telford

    Present address: Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, Cape Town, South Africa

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, P.O. Box MP167, Harare, Zimbabwe

    J. M. Dangerfield & S. R. Telford

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Dangerfield, J.M., Telford, S.R. Breeding phenology, variation in reproductive effort and offspring size in a tropical population of the woodlouse Porcellionides pruinosus . Oecologia 82, 251–258 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323542

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323542

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