Life cycle and population structure of the terrestrial isopodHemilepistus klugii(Brandt, 1833) (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in Iran

Behavioral and Reproductive Strategies of Porcellio Species (Oniscidea) in Tunisian Pre-Desert Ecosystems

“…The reproduction of these two iteroparous Porcellio was characterized by two breeding seasons: the most important one in spring and the other in autumn distinctly separated by a sexual rest phase [22,24]. This reproductive phenology differs from that of (1) mesic species such as P. variabilis [33,82], which generally shows a breeding period spread over several months followed by a sexual rest and (2) H. reaumurii and other desert species from the Middle East characterized by a single spring or autumn breeding season [45,72,83]. Our results about reproductive traits of both species showed that P. buddelundi exhibited a set of characteristics corresponding to those of the r-strategists: a shorter life span, a smaller size, early sexual maturity, higher fertility, and a reproductive allocation to maximize brood size.…”

“…The information available on terrestrial isopod reproduction patterns in temperate regions is largely for species occupying mesic habitats [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. The reproductive phenology of xeric species in temperate regions has been studied extensively only for populations in the Middle East desert [32,[43][44][45]. These desert species that are well adapted to an arid environment differ considerably in their breeding seasons and strategies [46].…”

“…However, other species have managed to colonize semiarid and arid habitats, and some have even managed to thrive in the desert. These adaptations have made the nine species of Hemilepistus the most abundant detritivores of the macrofauna of many arid areas of Asia Minor [26,45,50]. All of them are burrowing species.…”

“…However, based solely on these adaptations, the species could not exist in the current biotopes. His great success is due, firstly, to his behavioral adaptations-his social character [44,54] and his orientation [55]-and secondly to his reproductive strategy: H. reaumurii as H. klugii is semelparous and reproduces during a very short time of the year, April and May for the first species and April for the second [44,45].…”

The agnarid terrestrial isopods (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Agnaridae) of the province of Qazvin, Iran, with a description of a new species

“…Several contributions on the terrestrial isopod fauna of Iran have recently been published (Khalaji-Pirbalouti and Wägele 2010; Kashani et al 2010, 2011, 2013; Kashani and Sari 2012; Kashani 2014a, 2014b); however, the knowledge on this taxon remains relatively poor. During a survey of terrestrial isopods of the province of Qazvin, a dozen species of terrestrial isopods were collected.…”