Paternity in horseshoe crabs when spawning in multiple-male groups

Brockmann, H. Jane; Nguyen, Carl; Potts, Wayne K.

doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1547

Cited by 52 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Satellite males are rare in some populations, including the Florida Atlantic and the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula including Chuburná and Chabihau (unpublished data J. Gutiérrez and J. Zaldívar-Rae, Anáhuac Mayab University). Although a single attached male can fertilize all of the eggs, when satellite males are present (often two to four), they may fertilize a majority of the eggs (Brockmann et al , 2000. Single females have been observed excavating nests on spawning beaches in Long Island Sound where spawning indices are extremely low (0.002 females m -2 ); however, it is unknown whether eggs were deposited or not (Mattei et al 2010).…”

Section: Matingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Smith

Brockmann

Beekey³

et al. 2016

Rev Fish Biol Fisheries

110

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Section: Matingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Smith

Brockmann

Beekey³

et al. 2016

Rev Fish Biol Fisheries

110

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“…Those satellites that are able to orient themselves over the incurrent canal, partially pushing under the prosoma of the mated male, have the greatest likelihood of achieving fertilization (Brockmann et al 2000). Fertilization by more than one male is possible because horseshoe crabs have external fertilization (Brockmann et al , 2000. Attached and unattached males do not differ significantly in overall body size Botton and Loveland 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The satellites surrounding the mated pair, as well as the attached male, fertilize the female's eggs as they are being deposited in the sand ). Those satellites that are able to orient themselves over the incurrent canal, partially pushing under the prosoma of the mated male, have the greatest likelihood of achieving fertilization (Brockmann et al 2000). Fertilization by more than one male is possible because horseshoe crabs have external fertilization (Brockmann et al , 2000.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus (Arthropoda, Chelicerata) has proven to be a useful model system in which to study various aspects of mating behavior, including the effects of male and female size on mate selection (Brockmann 1990;Loveland and Botton 1992;Botton and Loveland 1992), male-male interactions and sperm competition (Brockmann 1996(Brockmann , 2003Brockmann et al , 2000, the role of lunar and tidal rhythms in synchronizing spawning behavior (Rudloe 1980; Barlow et al 1986), and the importance of visual cues in enabling males to locate females (Barlow et al 1982(Barlow et al , 1988. The horseshoe crab is an epibenthic animal, spending most of its time within bays or on the continental shelf, except for the annual spawning migration to sandy estuarine beaches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eye and clasper damage influence male mating tactics in the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus

Duffy

Penn

Botton

et al. 2005

J Ethol

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In the horseshoe crab mating system, mated pairs are frequently accompanied by unattached satellite males as they spawn on intertidal beaches. Previous studies have shown that males locate females visually using their lateral (compound) eyes, and that attached (mated) males generally have less heavily worn or damaged carapaces than unattached males. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of lateral eye condition and clasper abnormalities on male mating tactics. Sexually mature males had two kinds of eye damage: deterioration caused by disease, and overgrowth by sessile invertebrates, such as bryozoans, mussels, and tube-building polychaetes. The lateral eyes of attached males had significantly less decay than unattached males. On the other hand, coverage of the lateral eyes by encrusting invertebrates was more extensive among attached than unattached males. Although overgrowth did not appear to impair a male's ability to pair with a female as severely as eye decay, it is conceivable that amplexus may have occurred before epibiont coverage was sufficient to obscure vision. Male crabs that were experimentally "blindfolded" by painting their lateral eyes with black nail polish were less likely to reattach to a female than controls. Appendage injuries were more frequent among unattached males than among attached males; in particular, 6.4% of unattached males but 0.0% of attached males had damaged claspers (the modified first legs required for amplexus). Unattached males in the population were "older," as judged by the degree of carapace wear, than attached males. Severe visual impairment and/or clasper damage may explain the reduced pairing success of older male horseshoe crabs, and underlie their choice of the alternative satellite male mating tactics.

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“…Alternatively, a female's oviposition site (the pit that she has dug in the sand) may restrict the number of males whose sperm have access to her nest. In another synchronous beach-spawner, the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus, paternity analyses have shown that males who are in direct physical contact with the female sire almost all of the young (Brockmann et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple paternity and extra-group fertilizations in a natural population of California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis), a beach-spawning marine fish

Byrne

Avise

2009

Mar Biol

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Although individuals in many Wsh species move to shallow waters to spawn, the California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) is almost unique in its constitutive display of synchronous full-emergence beach spawning. During a spawning event, Wsh ride large waves onshore to spawn on beach land, where their eggs incubate terrestrially. Here, we employ molecular markers to ascertain how this unusual reproductive behavior impacts genetic parentage. We developed and utilized four highly polymorphic microsatellite markers to assess maternal and paternal contributions in a total of 682 progeny from 17 nests of a natural population of L. tenuis. Alleles deduced to be of paternal origin in progeny were used to determine the minimum number of sires per nest and to estimate the true number of sires per nest via Bayesian analysis. We document the following: (a) no instances of multiple maternity for progeny within a nest; (b) a high frequency of nests (88%) with multiple paternity; and (c) an appreciable fraction of nests (18%) in which the estimated number of genetic sires (as many as nine) proved to be greater than the observed number of male attendants, thus implicating occasional extra-group fertilization events. From these and other observations, we also conclude that spawning behavior in grunions may involve site choice but not explicit mate choice. In addition to providing the Wrst analysis of molecular parentage in a beach-spawning Wsh, we compare our Wndings to those reported previously for a beach-spawning arthropod, and we discuss the forces that may be maintaining this peculiar reproductive behavior.

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Paternity in horseshoe crabs when spawning in multiple-male groups

Cited by 52 publications

References 56 publications

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Eye and clasper damage influence male mating tactics in the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus

Multiple paternity and extra-group fertilizations in a natural population of California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis), a beach-spawning marine fish

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