We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Latitudinal and bathymetric trends in egg size variation: a new look at Thorson's and Rass's rules.
- Authors
Laptikhovsky, Vladimir
- Abstract
The inverse relationship between egg size in marine animals and water temperature was simultaneously described by two outstanding marine scientists: G. Thorson and T.S. Rass. This rule consists of two different phenomena. Thorson's rule describes ecological processes related to changes in larval biology and morphology that are caused by a selective pressure of natural selection on the different types of larval development. It belongs to the realm of macro-evolution. Rass's rule describes physiological processes within populations and species, and between closely related species. This is not related to changes in reproductive strategy, and therefore belongs to the realm of micro-evolution and to the early stages of macro-evolution. Populations begin to produce larger eggs in colder environments because of phenotypic plasticity. Thorson's rule describes temperature-dependent changes in the relative abundance of small- and large-egged species, whereas Rass's rule describes a temperature-dependent relative position of both groups within an adaptive range of reproductive strategies.
- Subjects
MARINE animals; MARINE scientists; ANIMAL morphology; WATER temperature; LARVAE; LIFE sciences; BIOLOGICAL invasions; AQUATIC scientists; BIOLOGY
- Publication
Marine Ecology, 2006, Vol 27, Issue 1, p7
- ISSN
0173-9565
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1439-0485.2006.00077.x