Skip Navigation



JPR Advance Access published online on October 9, 2007
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbm076
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
29/12/1023    most recent
fbm076v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Titelman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Fiksen, O.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Titelman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Fiksen, O.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Horizons

Copepod mating: chance or choice?

Josefin Titelman1,2,*, Øystein Varpe1,3, Sigrunn Eliassen1 and Øyvind Fiksen1

1 University of Bergen, Department of Biology, Postbox 7800, 5020 Bergen, Norway 2 Present address (Josefin Titelman): Göteborg University, Department of Marine Ecology, Kristineberg Marine Research Station, 45034 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden 3 The University Centre in Svalbard, Postbox 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway

* Corresponding author (Josefin.Titelman{at}marecol.gu.se).

Received on May 16, 2007; revised on July 19, 2007; accepted on October 4, 2007


  Abstract

Mate choice is common in most animals, but the issue has largely been ignored in regard to pelagic copepods - the most abundant zooplankton group in the oceans. Contemporary demographic models of copepods assume that all encounters lead to successful copulation and viable egg production. We revisit the subject of copepod mating biology in the framework of sexual selection theory. We discuss, and point to, examples that suggest mate choice in both sexes. Sexual selection theory may add an important dimension for understanding copepod population dynamics and potentially lead to renewed interpretations of the diverse copepod behaviours and life-histories. In addition, the range of mating strategies in copepods represents a rich, but unexplored, source of information for general behavioural ecologists.

Key Words: Mating behavior • mate choice • sexual selection • encounter limitation • spermatophore

Communicating Editor: R. P. Harris

Written responses to this article should be submitted to R. P. Harris at r.p.h{at}pml.ac.uk within two months of publication. For further information, please see the Editorial ‘Horizons’ in Journal of Plankton Research, Volume 26, Number 3, Page 257.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
A. K. Ali, R. Primicerio, I. Folstad, S. Liljedal, and J. Berge
Morphological correlates of mating frequency and clutch size in wild caught female Eudiaptomus graciloides (Copepoda: Calanoida)
J. Plankton Res., April 1, 2009; 31(4): 389 - 397.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.