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Life history of the talitrid amphipod Macarorchestia remyi (Schellenberg, 1950) on a Tyrrhenian sandy beach, Italy

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Abstract

In this study, we analysed the life cycle and some aspects of the reproductive biology of the talitrid amphipod Macarorchestia remyi (Schellenberg, 1950) on a sandy beach in central Italy (Tyrrhenian Sea). The species is strongly associated with rotting wood carried by the sea. The animals were sampled once a month by hand over 1 year (May 2006–April 2007) and a total of 3,484 individuals were collected. Results showed the occurrence of intersexes in addition to males and females (n = 268) and a sex ratio always in favour of females. Breeding peaked twice during the year and the number of eggs in the ventral brood chamber ranged from 3 to 19. Linear regression analysis showed a positive correlation between total length of ovigerous females and the number of eggs they carried. The mean length of both mature males and mature females was 6 mm, while the maximum length was 13 mm. The presence of two cohorts during the year was also identified. Our results suggest that, despite the ephemeral habitats where the species lives, the population is stable over time and its life cycle does not differ in relation to other talitrid species that live on beaches.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank two anonymous referees for truly helpful criticisms on first draft of this manuscript. This work is part of L. Pavesi Ph.D. thesis project aimed at understanding the life history and phylogeography of M. remyi.

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  1. Department of Animal and Human Biology, University of Rome “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università, 32, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Laura Pavesi & Elvira De Matthaeis

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  1. Laura Pavesi
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  2. Elvira De Matthaeis
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Correspondence to Laura Pavesi.

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Handling editor: Pierluigi Viaroli

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Pavesi, L., De Matthaeis, E. Life history of the talitrid amphipod Macarorchestia remyi (Schellenberg, 1950) on a Tyrrhenian sandy beach, Italy. Hydrobiologia 635, 171–180 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9909-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9909-3

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