Precopulatory Mate Guarding, Mating System and Pairing Parental Care in Hyale rubra (Peracarida; Amphipoda; Gammaridae)
2008
Kim, S.H. (Tanhae Marine Resources Institute, Namhae, Republic of Korea), E-mail: w0827@hanmail.net
Mating behaviour of the gammarid amphipod, Hyale rubra, was observed. H. rubra displayed precopulatory mate guarding: males clasped females with their gnathopods during copulation, forming a pair. Males also participated in embryo care during the incubation period. The population was small, and the sex ratio was almost equal. Energy allocation for mating effort and parental effort in the two sexes appear to be almost equal. The mating system was sequentially polygamous (or promiscuous) and there was conspicuous sexual dimorphism in the size of the gnathopod, which was used for mate guarding. However, there appears to be relatively weak sexual competition for mating opportunities despite conspicuous sexual dimorphism. H. rubra did not display territorial competition or external fertilization. Nevertheless, the male provided paternal care. Since H. rubra inhabit tide pools and live on algae, the polygamous mating system of the species can be explained by the polygyny threshold model. The evolution of mate guarding and parental care may have been favored by the species' low population density and harsh environments, an interpretation consistent with the optimality model.
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