Reproductive performance in a phyletic dwarf, the spider crab Petramithrax pygmaeus (Bell, 1836) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Mithracidae)

Abstract

The spider crab Petramithrax pygmaeus (Bell, 1836), a phyletic dwarf, was used to test predictions regarding reproductive performance in small marine invertebrates. Considering the disproportional increase in brooding costs and the allometry of egg production with increasing body size, it was expected that this minute-size species would produce large broods compared to closely related species that attain much larger body sizes. Fecundity in P. pygmaeus females carrying early and late eggs varied, respectively, between 17 and 172 eggs crab–1 (mean ± SD = 87.97 ± 48.39) and between 13 and 159 eggs crab–1 (55.04 ± 40.29). Females did not experience brood loss during egg development. Egg volume in females carrying early and late eggs varied, respectively, between 0.13 and 0.40 mm3 (0.22 ± 0.07) and between 0.15 and 0.42 mm3 (0.26 ± 0.06 mm3). Reproductive output (RO) varied between 0.91 and 8.73% (3.81 ± 2.17%) of female dry body weight. The RO of P. pygmaeus was lower than that reported for closely related species with larger body sizes. The slope (b = 0.95 ± 0.15) of the line describing the relationship between brood and parental female dry weight was not statistically significant from unity. Overall, our results disagree with the notion that the allometry of gamete production and increased physiological costs with increased brood size explain the association between brooding and small body size in marine invertebrates. Comparative studies on the reproductive investment of brooding species belonging to monophyletic clades with extensive differences in body size are warranted to further our understanding about disparity in egg production in brooding marine invertebrates.