Intrapopulation variability in coloration is associated withreproductive season in the crayfsh Faxonius virilis  

作　　者：Lauren Mathews 

机构地区：[1]Department of Biology,Worcester Polytechnic Institute,100 Institute Road,Worcester,MA 01609,USA

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2025年第2期251-262,共12页动物学报(英文版)

摘　　要：Animal coloration has a wide range of biological functions and may be subject to different,sometimes conficting,selective pressures.In crustaceans,the evolution of coloration is relatively unstudied,despite the broad range of colors and color patterns,which includes variability at multiple levels.Freshwater crayfsh are known to show color variability within species and populations,as well as intra-individual variability,but thefunction,if any,of crayfsh coloration is largely unknown.Here,I report on an experiment to understand patterns of color variability in the crayfsh Faxonius virilis and show that variation is strongly correlated to ontogenetic changes from a summer non-reproductive form to a fall reproductiveform.Crayfsh showed comparatively little inter-and intra-individual color variation in their non-reproductive form,but substantial variation at bothlevels in the reproductive form.Transition to the reproductive form was associated with the development of greener or bluer coloration localizedto the chelae on a subset of individuals,but these changes showed no clear correlation with sex or body size.Future investigations should focuson determining whether differences in color between individuals in the mating season are associated with any physiological or behavioral differences,or with differential susceptibility to predation.

关 键 词：crayfsh color variation reproductive form seasonal changes 

分 类 号：Q959.4[生物学—动物学]