Tradeoffs explain scaling, sex differences, and seasonal oscillations in the remarkable weapons of snapping shrimp (Alpheus spp.).

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary theory suggests that individuals should express costly traits at a magnitude that optimizes the trait bearer's cost-benefit difference. Trait expression varies across a species because costs and benefits vary among individuals. For example, if large individuals pay lower costs than small individuals, then larger individuals should reach optimal cost-benefit differences at greater trait magnitudes. Using the cavitation-shooting weapons found in the big claws of male and female snapping shrimp, we test whether size- and sex-dependent expenditures explain scaling and sex differences in weapon size. We found that males and females from three snapping shrimp species (Alpheus heterochaelis, Alpheus angulosus, and Alpheus estuariensis) show patterns consistent with tradeoffs between

SUBMITTER: Dinh JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10234628 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature