Spatial size variation in adult females ofSaduria entomon(crustacea, isopoda): A comparison between field observations and predictions of a life-history model

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Abstract
The size of adult Saduria entomon females increases with increasing depth in the northern Bothnian Sea. The aim with the investigation was to investigate if the size variation could be explained as adaptive by testing predictions from a life-history model accounting for temperature related growth and mortality. Field samples were collected to elucidate the growth and survival conditions at different depths of this species. Strong correlations were found between size of mature S. entomon females and several factors such as depth, fish predation, food availability, salinity, and temperature. The growth and mortality patterns varied with depth, and size at maturity, as predicted by the life-history model. The close correlation between metabolic temperature, TQ10, and adult size makes temperature a probable proximate cue in the determination of size at maturation in S.entomon females.