Abstract
Three recently emerging genotype classes of the genus Menippe (M. mercenaria, M. adina, and their hybrids) were examined for potential physiological correlates of gene mixing over a salinity range of 5 to 35‰. Resting metabolic rate (RMR), as measured by oxygen uptake (V˙ O2), was highest in the hybrids. Differences in V˙ O2 could not be accounted for by differences in systemic adaptations (e.g. heart rate or scaphognathite frequency); therefore it was concluded that they were based on potential underlying differences in carbohydrate metabolism. The higher RMR in the hybrids was attributed to a higher metabolic cost of maintenance, resulting from the breakup of coadapted gene complexes as a result of introgressive hybridization.
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Received: 22 July 1996 / Accepted: 17 October 1996
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Combs, C., Henry, R., Bert, T. et al. Increased metabolic cost of maintenance in hybrids of the stone crabs Menippe mercenaria and M. adina . Marine Biology 129, 53–61 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050145