Abstract
Microsatellite data have recently been introduced in the context of genetic maternity and paternity assignments in high-fecundity fish species with single-parent-tended broods. Here we extend such analyses to an aquatic invertebrate, the crayfish Orconectes placidus, in which gravid females carry large numbers of offspring. Genetic parentage analyses of more than 900 progeny from 15 wild crayfish broods revealed that gravid females were invariably the exclusive dams of the offspring they tended (i.e. there was no allomaternal care), and that most of the females had mated with multiple (usually two) males who contributed sometimes highly skewed numbers of offspring to a brood. Within any multiply sired brood, the unhatched eggs (or the hatched juveniles) from different fathers were randomly distributed across the mother's brood space. All of these genetic findings are discussed in the light of observations on the mating behaviours and reproductive biology of crayfish.
Highlights
‘Common and lowly as most may think the crayfish, it is yet so full of wonders that the greatest naturalist may be puzzled to give a clear account of it.’
Descriptive accounts abound on the reproductive biology and mating behaviours of crayfishes (Pippitt 1977; Berrill & Arsenault 1984; Holdich & Lowery 1988; Momot 1988; Riggert et al 1999; Holdich 2002; see the website http://zoology.byu.edu/crandall_lab/lablinks.htm)
Nature have been observed to encounter and disrupt copulating pairs (Berrill & Arsenault 1984), and for this or other reasons, at least some females might mate with two or more partners. Multiple mating by both sexes has been noticed in the laboratory in several crayfish genera (Berrill & Arsenault 1984; Reynolds 2002), but such observations do not document multiple sires for a clutch nor can they assess the frequency of multiple paternity in the wild
Summary
‘Common and lowly as most may think the crayfish, it is yet so full of wonders that the greatest naturalist may be puzzled to give a clear account of it.’. C. AVISE nature have been observed to encounter and disrupt copulating pairs (Berrill & Arsenault 1984), and for this or other reasons, at least some females might mate with two or more partners. AVISE nature have been observed to encounter and disrupt copulating pairs (Berrill & Arsenault 1984), and for this or other reasons, at least some females might mate with two or more partners Multiple mating by both sexes has been noticed in the laboratory in several crayfish genera (Berrill & Arsenault 1984; Reynolds 2002), but such observations do not document multiple sires for a clutch nor can they assess the frequency of multiple paternity in the wild
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
