Reproductive Uncertainty and the Evolution of Iteroparity: Why Don't Flatfish Put All Their Eggs in One Basket?
- 1 August 1981
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
- Vol. 38 (8) , 968-977
- https://doi.org/10.1139/f81-130
Abstract
Murphy's hypothesis that variation in reproductive life span is an adaptive response to variation in the predictability of reproductive success is examined. Murphy's contention that this hypothesis explains the variation in reproductive life span within the clupeids is reexamined incorporating further data on the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens). A nonsignificant correlation is now obtained between reproductive life span and brood strength variation; thus, the hypothesis is called into question. An alternative explanation is presented that considers the interaction between life history parameters: because it is necessary for the intrinsic rate of increase to exceed zero, variation in one parameter must be associated with variation in at least one other parameter. In the clupeids it is noted that the age of maturity and reproductive life span vary in concert and it is suggested that this provides an explanation of variation in reproductive life span. These two hypotheses are examined using data on the family Pleuronectidae, the flatfish. No correlation exists between reproductive life span and the degree of fluctuation in brood strength but there is a significant correlation between reproductive life span and age of maturity. It is concluded that variation in reproductive life span within the flatfish group is not a response to variation in reproductive success but rather a correlate of variation in age of maturity.Key words: flatfish, Pleuronectidae, iteroparity, natural selection, reproduction, clupeidsThis publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Review of the Lifespans and Mortality Rates of Fish in Nature, and Their Relation to Growth and Other Physiological CharacteristicsPublished by Wiley ,2008
- Distribution, Age and Growth, and Sexual Maturity of Witch Flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus) in Newfoundland WatersJournal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1976
- Life-History Tactics: A Review of the IdeasThe Quarterly Review of Biology, 1976
- On Breeding More Than OnceThe American Naturalist, 1976
- EVOLUTIONARY STRATEGIES IN LIZARD REPRODUCTIONEvolution, 1970
- Age and Growth of American Plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) in the Newfoundland Area of the Northwest AtlanticJournal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1967
- The breeding and fecundity of the Long Rough Dab Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabr.) and the associated cycle in conditionJournal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1957
- Factors influencing the survival of the lemon sole (Parophrys vetulus) in Hecate Strait, British ColumbiaJournal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1956
- The growth rate of the Long Rough Dab Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabr.)—a correctionJournal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1955
- The Population Consequences of Life History PhenomenaThe Quarterly Review of Biology, 1954