Females of coenagrionid damselflies exhibit color dimorphism, consisting of an andromorph and a gynomorph. This study compared reproductive traits between the female morphs in both field-captured and laboratory-reared females of the female-dimorphic damselfly Ischnura senegalensis. No difference was found in the onset of egg development between the morphs. The andromorphs developed significantly smaller mature eggs and had significantly more immature eggs than the gynomorphs. These results suggest that the andromorphs are r-strategists (high fecundity with small eggs), whereas the gynomorphs are K-strategists (low fecundity with large eggs). Fecundity and egg size might determine the quantity and quality of the offspring, respectively, indicating that morph-specific reproductive traits would contribute to the overall fitness of each female morph, and consequently be key factors affecting morph frequency in a population.
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1 April 2010
Morph-Specific Fecundity and Egg Size in the Female-Dimorphic Damselfly Ischnura senegalensis
Yuma Takahashi,
Mamoru Watanabe
damselfly
egg production
egg size
fecundity
female polymorphism
K-strategy
reproductive strategy