Biol 342: Reproductive Behaviors in Stomatopods | Brendan Kohrn | |
Adaptive Value | Fall 2012 |
Adaptive value, as used in the study of animal behavior, refers to a measure of what value a trait has. Usual, it takes the form of an increase in the number of an individual's offspring surviving to mating. This website will not spend time examining the question of whether every behavior must be adaptive (for more information on this question, see Gould & Lewontin's 1979 paper "Spandrels of St. Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: a critique of the adaptionist program", and Mayr's 1983 paper "How to Carry out the Adaptionist Program?").
Much of the adaptive value of stomatopod reproductive behaviors is fairly self-evident. For instance:
However, one aspect of stomatopod reproduction is harder to explain, that being the amount of control the female has over her mate. In many species of crustaceans, there is a form of female choice of mates, but a significantly strong mate can often overrule a females choice. In many other crustaceans, the female has very little choice in the matter[9]. Yet in stomatopods, the choice of who to mate with lies almost entirely with the female. Indeed, in some species, the female not only chooses which male to mate with, but also initiates courtship. This reversal has been attributed to the practice in Psudosquilla cliata of multiple matings by females between periods of egg laying, and to the high degree of aggression inherent in stomatopod courtship [13].
© 2012 Brendan Kohrn, Reed College |