Many studies investigating the ecology and evolution of mosquitoes rely on morphometric measurements related to body size to estimate fecundity. Determining the most reliable estimators of fecundity is therefore an important methodological consideration. We compared the relative accuracy of pupal mass and wing length in predicting the fecundity (number of mature stage IV follicles of the first ...

The sex ratio, gonadosomatic index, stages of gonadal development and fecundity of sompat grunt Pomadasys jubelini off Lagos coast, Nigeria were investigated. P. jubelini had sex ratio of 1: 0.85 (male to female). The difference in sex ratio was not significantly different (p > 0.05) from the expected 1:1 distribution. Gonadosomatic index ranged from 0.07 to 7.29% with mean of 2.25 ± 0.08%. Hig...

A variety of social, developmental, biological and genetic factors influence sexual orientation in males. Thus, several hypotheses have attempted to explain the sustenance of genetic factors that influence male homosexuality, despite decreased fecundity within the homosexuals. Kin selection, the existence of maternal effects and two forms of balancing selection, sexually antagonistic selection ...

In many species, males rely on sexual ornaments to attract females. Females, by contrast, rarely produce ornaments. The glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) is an exception where wingless females glow to attract males that fly in search of females. However, little is known about the factors that promote the evolution of female ornaments in a sexual selection context. Here, we investigated if the fema...

Although variation in male fertilization efficiency has been shown to have a genetic basis in several species, the genes responsible for the effect are generally unknown. Here, we show a strong association between the fertilization success of males and their phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (Pgdh) genotype in the bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini. Males homozygous for the slow (S) allele fathered a s...

Mature specimens ranging in weight from 47.00g to 4450g and in length from145mm to 610mm were used. Weight of ovary in the fish fluctuated from 4.0 g to 707 g with a mean value of 33.47. Absolute fecundity of samples varied from 3173 to 629230 and the relative fecundity varied in the range of 21.00 223.00 with a mean value of 91.17. The mathematical relationship of fecundity with other variable...

Body size is correlated with potential fecundity in capital breeders, but size-dependent functions of realized fecundity may be impacted by reproductive losses due to mating failure or oviposition time limitations (number of eggs remaining in the abdomen of females at death). Post-mortem assessment of adults collected in the field after natural death represents a sound approach to quantify how ...

By investigating metapopulation fitness, we present analytical expressions for the selection gradient and conditions for convergence stability and evolutionary stability in Wright's island model in terms of fecundity function. Coefficients of each derivative of fecundity function appearing in these conditions have fixed signs. This illustrates which kind of interaction promotes or inhibits evol...

the prey suitability for generalist predators is an important feature for efficient mass rearing and ipm. the green lacewing, chrysoperla carnea (stephens) is a polyphagous predator attacking several pests on various crops. this experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2 °c, 60 ± 5% r. h. and a photoperiod of 16l: 8d h. the effects of different prey species were investigated...

the reproductive biology of the iranian cichlid, iranocichla hormuzensis coad, 1988, was investigated for 13 consecutive months in lower mehran river, from august 2008 through august 2009. four hundred and eighty six individuals (252 males and 234 females) were captured using a seine net (5 mm mesh size). the observed sex ratio was 1m: 0.93f (χ², df = 1, p = 0.414). mean ± sd of total length (t...