Comparison of life-history traits of the two male morphs of the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini.
Two basic male morphs occur in several species of the family Acaridae: heteromorphic fighters, possessing a thickened and sharply terminated third pair of legs, and homeomorphic males with unmodified legs. We compared major life-history traits of the two morphs in the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini. We found no significant differences in development time or virility, but homeomorphic males lived 23% longer than heteromorphs. We discuss the possibility that the trade-off between longevity and adaptation for fighting maintains genetic variation for the male morph in the studied species.
Radwan
J
J
Department of Zoopsychology and Animal Ethology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland. radwan@eko.uj.edu.pl
Bogacz
I
I
D000378:Agonistic Behavior; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D008925:Mites / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D010058:Oviposition; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric