TY - JOUR

T1 - Morphological differences between females of different Jaera species (Crustacea

T2 - Asellota: Isopoda) in the White Sea: A possible solution to an old problem

AU - Khaitov, Vadim M.

AU - Kuzmin, Andrey A.

AU - Terovskaya, Eugenya V.

N1 - Copyright: Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2007/3

Y1 - 2007/3

N2 - It is well known that females of "Jaera albifrons" species complex cannot be determined on the basis of morphological analysis. In this work, an attempt to separate females of three Jaera species on the basis of morphometric characters, the length of so-called "coupling zones" (CZ), was made. Coupling zones are those parts of the partners' bodies that contact during copulation. Female CZ is a region between the posterior edge of the pleotelson and the border between the fourth and the fifth thoracic segments, where openings of dorsal vaginas are situated. Male CZ extends from the anterior edge of the cephalon to the first abdominal segment carrying the copulative organ. Absolute and relative lengths of CZ were used. The latter was calculated as ratio of absolute length of CZ to body length. Two settlements of Jaera in the White Sea were studied for 3 years. Species composition of these populations was quite different (the first one was dominated by J. ischiosetosa and the second by J. albifrons and, 1 year by J. praehirsuta). Males of different species were shown to be distinct in terms of absolute and relative length of CZ. Frequency distributions of absolute and relative CZ length of females differed significantly in the two settlements. The experiments based on male choice in mixed samples were organized. They revealed that females chosen by males of different species differ significantly by CZ parameters.

AB - It is well known that females of "Jaera albifrons" species complex cannot be determined on the basis of morphological analysis. In this work, an attempt to separate females of three Jaera species on the basis of morphometric characters, the length of so-called "coupling zones" (CZ), was made. Coupling zones are those parts of the partners' bodies that contact during copulation. Female CZ is a region between the posterior edge of the pleotelson and the border between the fourth and the fifth thoracic segments, where openings of dorsal vaginas are situated. Male CZ extends from the anterior edge of the cephalon to the first abdominal segment carrying the copulative organ. Absolute and relative lengths of CZ were used. The latter was calculated as ratio of absolute length of CZ to body length. Two settlements of Jaera in the White Sea were studied for 3 years. Species composition of these populations was quite different (the first one was dominated by J. ischiosetosa and the second by J. albifrons and, 1 year by J. praehirsuta). Males of different species were shown to be distinct in terms of absolute and relative length of CZ. Frequency distributions of absolute and relative CZ length of females differed significantly in the two settlements. The experiments based on male choice in mixed samples were organized. They revealed that females chosen by males of different species differ significantly by CZ parameters.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33847336107&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s00227-006-0450-x

DO - 10.1007/s00227-006-0450-x

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:33847336107

VL - 150

SP - 1205

EP - 1214

JO - Marine Biology

JF - Marine Biology

SN - 0025-3162

IS - 6

ER -