Abstract
Developmental and reproductive parameters and their relationships were studied in the marine isopod Idotea linearis. We hypothesized that (1) the temporal patterns of molting and growth undergo complex and sex-specific changes with age as well as with the onset of sexual maturation, and that (2) sexual maturation (and dependent parameters) is controlled by the photoperiod. Both males and females were singly cultured in the laboratory at two alternative photoperiods (constant long and short days, respectively) from hatching until death. Males molted and grew throughout their life, showing a steady increase in stage duration and body size with each molt. Females, in contrast, showed much more complex modifications in molt chronology due to reproductive demands. There was some variability in the stage number, when females reached maturity. Reaching maturity early in the succession of molts was associated with smaller body size at maturity, smaller size of broods, but higher average number of broods per lifetime. Post-puberty molts in females occurred without further growth, and successive broods did not differ in size. The photoperiod strongly affected sexual maturation (and thus in turn molting and growth patterns) in females, while males remained completely unaffected by the photo regime.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiken, D. E., 1969. Photoperiod, endocrinology and the crustacean molt cycle. Science 164: 149–155.
Anger, K., 1983. Temperature and the larval development of Hyas araneus L. (Decapoda: Majidae); extrapolation of laboratory data to field conditions. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 69: 203–215.
Armitage, K. B., A. L. Buikema Jr. & N. J. Willems, 1973. The effect of photoperiod on organic constituents and molting of the crayfish Orconectes nais (Faxon). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 44: 431–456.
Baeza-Rojano, E., J. M. Guerra- García, M. Pilar Cabezas & I. Pacios, 2011. Life history of Caprella grandimana (Crustacea: Amphipoda) reared under laboratory conditions. Marine Biology Research 7: 85–92.
Becker-Carus, C., 1967. Die Bedeutung der Tageslänge für die Ausbildung des Geschlechts bei Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda). Crustaceana 13: 137–150.
Beermann, J. & A. K. Purz, 2013. Comparison of life history parameters in coexisting species of the genus Jassa (Amphipoda, Ischyroceridae). Journal of Crustacean Biology 33: 784–792.
Benayoun, G. & S. W. Fowler, 1980. Long-term observations on the moulting frequency of the shrimp Lysmata seticaudata. Marine Biology 59: 219–233.
Bertin, A. & F. Cezilly, 2003. Sexual selection, antennae length and the mating advantage of large males in Asellus aquaticus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16: 698–707.
Borowsky, B., 1987. Laboratory studies of the pattern of reproduction of the isopod crustacean Idotea baltica. Fishery Bulletin 85: 377–380.
Bulnheim, H. P., 1967. Über den Einfluß der Photoperiode auf die Geschlechtsrealisation bei Gammarus duebeni. Helgoländer Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen 15: 69–83.
Charmantier-Daures, M. & G. Vernet, 2004. Moulting, autonomy, and regeneration. In Forest, J. & J. C. Vaupel Klein (eds), The Crustacea (revised and updated from Traité de Zoologie). Brill, Leiden: 161–255.
Cobb, J. S., G. R. Tamm & D. Wang, 1982. Behavioral mechanisms influencing molt frequency in the American lobster Homarus americanus Milne Edwards. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 62: 185–200.
Crisp, D. J. & B. Patel, 1969. Environmental control of the breeding of three boreo-arctic cirripedes. Marine Biology 2: 283–295.
Dunn, A. M., J. C. Hogg, A. Kelly & M. J. Hatcher, 2005. Two cues for sex determination in Gammarus duebeni: adaptive variation in environmental sex determination? Limnology and Oceanography 50: 346–353.
Engkvist, R., T. Malm & S. Tobiasson, 2000. Density dependent grazing effects of the isopod Idotea baltica Pallas on Fucus vesiculosus L. in the Baltic Sea. Aquatic Ecology 34: 253–260.
Fowler, S. W., L. F. Small & S. Kečkeš, 1971. Effects of temperature and size on molting of euphausiid crustaceans. Marine Biology 11: 45–51.
Gambardella, C., S. M. Guarino, C. Dinardo & M. de Nicola, 1997. Effect of photoperiod on embryogenesis and growth rate in Idotea baltica (Isopoda). Journal of Crustacean Biology 17: 412–416.
Guler, Y., S. Short, P. Kile & A. T. Ford, 2012. Integrating field and laboratory evidence for environmental sex determination in the amphipod, Echinogammarus marinus. Marine Biology 159: 2885–2890.
Hartnoll, R. G., 1982. Growth. In Abele, L. G. & D. E. Bliss (eds), The Biology of Crustacea, Vol. 2., Embryology, morphology and genetics Academic Press, New York: 111–196.
Hartnoll, R. G., 1985. Growth, sexual maturity and reproductive output. In Wenner, A. M. (ed), Crustacean Issues 3. Factors in Adult Growth. AA Balkema, Rotterdam: 101–128.
Hartnoll, R. G., 2001. Growth in Crustacea – twenty years on. Hydrobiologia 449: 111–122.
Healy, B. & M. O’Neill, 1984. The life cycle and population dynamics of Idotea pelagica and I. granulosa (Isopoda: Valvifera) in south–east Ireland. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 64: 21–33.
Holdich, D. M., 1968. Reproduction, growth and bionomics of Dynamene bidentata (Crustacea: Isopoda). Journal of Zoology 156: 137–153.
Hosono, T., 2011. Effect of temperature on growth and maturation pattern of Caprella mutica (Crustacea, Amphipoda): does the temperature-size rule function in caprellids? Marine Biology 158: 363–370.
Jormalainen, V. & S. Merilaita, 1995. Female resistance and duration of mate-guarding in three aquatic peracarids (Crustacea). Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 36: 43–48.
Jormalainen, V., S. Merilaita & J. Tuomi, 1995. Differential predation on sexes affects colour polymorphism of the isopod Idotea baltica (Pallas). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 55: 45–68.
Kinne, O., 1953. Zur Biologie und Physiologie von Gammarus duebeni Lillj., II.: Über die Häutungsfrequenz, ihre Abhängigkeit von Temperatur und Salzgehalt, sowie über ihr Verhalten bei isoliert gehaltenen und amputierten Versuchstieren. Zoologische Jahrbücher: Abteilung für allgemeine Zoologie und Physiologie der Tiere 64: 183–206.
Kinne, O., 1954. Zur Biologie und Physiologie von Gammarus duebeni Lillj., VIII.: Die Bedeutung der Kopulation für Eiablage und Häutungsfrequenz. Biologisches Zentralblatt 73: 190–202.
Kinne, O., 1960. Gammarus salinus – Einige Daten über den Umwelteinfluss auf Wachstum, Häutungsfolge, Herzfrequenz und Eientwicklungsdauer. Crustaceana 1: 208–218.
Kroer, N., 1989. Life cycle characteristics and reproductive patterns of Idotea spp. (Isopoda) in the Limfjord, Denmark. Ophelia 30: 63–74.
Kruschwitz, L. G., 1978. Environmental factors controlling reproduction of the amphipod Hyalella azteca. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 58: 16–21.
McQueen, D. J. & C. G. H. Steel, 1980. The role of photoperiod and temperature in the initiation of reproduction in the terrestrial isopod Oniscus asellus Linnaeus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 58: 235–240.
Miller, C. B., J. K. Johnson & D. R. Heinle, 1977. Growth rules in the marine copepod genus Acartia. Limnology and Oceanography 22: 326–335.
Mocquart, J. P., G. Besse, P. Juchault, J. J. Legrand, J. Maissiat, G. Martin & J. L. Picaud, 1976. Durée des cycles de mues chez les femelles de l’oniscoide Porcellio dilatatus Brandt suivant leur état sexuel et les conditions d’élevage. Bulletin d’Écologie 7: 297–314.
Montagna, M. C., 2011. Effect of temperature on the survival and growth of freshwater prawns Macrobrachium borellii and Palaemonetes argentinus (Crustacea, Palaemonidae). Iheringia, Série Zoologia 101: 233–238.
Naylor, C. & J. Adams, 1987. Sexual dimorphism, drag constraints and male performance in Gammarus duebeni (Amphipoda). Oikos 48: 23–27.
Naylor, C., J. Adams & P. Greenwood, 1988. Population dynamics and adaptive sexual strategies in a brackish water crustacean, Gammarus duebeni. Journal of Animal Ecology 57: 493–507.
Naylor, E., 1972. British marine isopods. Synopsis of the British Fauna No. 3. Academic Press, London.
Oh, C. W. & R. G. Hartnoll, 2000. Effects of food supply on the growth and survival of the common shrimp, Crangon crangon (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, Caridea). Crustaceana 73: 83–99.
Pöckl, M., 1992. Effects of temperature, age and body size on moulting and growth in the freshwater amphipods Gammarus fossarum and G. roeseli. Freshwater Biology 27: 211–225.
Ridley, M. & D. J. Thompson, 1979. Size and mating in Asellus aquaticus (Crustacea: Isopoda). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 51: 380–397.
Salama, A. & R. G. Hartnoll, 1992. Effects of food and feeding regime on the growth and survival of the prawn Palaemon elegans Rathke, 1837 (Decapoda, Caridea). Crustaceana 63: 11–22.
Salemaa, H., 1987. Herbivory and microhabitat preferences of Idotea spp. (Isopoda) in the northern Baltic Sea. Ophelia 27: 1–15.
Somers, K. M., 1991. Characterizing size-specific fecundity in crustaceans. In Wenner, A. M. & A. Kuris (eds), Crustacean Egg Production. Crustacean Issues 7. Balkema, Rotterdam: 357–378.
Souty, C., A. Chentoufi, J. P. Mocquart & P. Juchault, 1988. Seasonal reproduction in the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille): geographical variability and genetic control of the response to photoperiod and temperature. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 14: 131–151.
Steele, D. H. & V. J. Steele, 1972. The biology of Jaera spp. (Crustacea, Isopoda) in the northern Atlantic. 1. Jaera ischiosetosa. Canadian Journal of Zoology 50: 205–211.
Steele, V. J. & D. H. Steele, 1986. The influence of photoperiod on the timing of reproductive cycles in Gammarus species (Crustacea, Amphipoda). American Zoologist 26: 459–467.
Verhoef, G. D., C. M. Austin, P. L. Jones & F. Stagnitti, 1998. Effect of temperature on molt increment and intermolt period of a juvenile Australian fresh-water crayfish, Cherax destructor. Journal of Crustacean Biology 18: 673–679.
Ward, P. I., 1984. Gammarus pulex control their molt timing to secure mates. Animal Behaviour 32: 927.
Watt, P. J., 1994. Parental control of sex ratio in Gammarus duebeni, an organism with environmental sex determination. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 7: 177–187.
Weeks, S. C., V. Markus & S. Alvarez, 1997. Notes on the life history of the clam shrimp, Eulimnadia texana. Hydrobiologia 359: 191–197.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Michael Janke for his meticulous and patient technical assistance in culture maintenance and data collection. We gratefully acknowledge the comments of two anonymous reviewers who have contributed to improve this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling editor: Vasilis Valavanis
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Franke, HD., Beermann, J. The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on developmental parameters and their relationships in the marine isopod Idotea linearis (Crustacea). Hydrobiologia 732, 197–212 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1846-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1846-0