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Egg Size as a Life History Character of Marine Invertebrates: Is It All It's Cracked Up to Be?

Department of Biological Sciences, 132 Long Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: moran{at}clemson.edu

Egg size is one of the most important aspects of the life history of free-spawning marine organisms, and it is correlated with larval developmental mode and many other life-history characters. Egg size is simple to measure and data are available for a wide range of taxa, but we have a limited understanding of how large and small eggs differ in composition; size is not always the best measure of the characters under selection. Large eggs are generally considered to reflect increased maternal investment, but egg size alone can be a poor predictor of energetic content within and among taxa. We review techniques that have been used to measure the energetic content and biochemical makeup of invertebrate eggs and point out the strengths and difficulties associated with each. We also suggest a number of comparative and descriptive approaches to biochemical constituent analysis that would strengthen our understanding of how natural selection shapes oogenic strategies. Finally, we highlight recent empirical research on the intrinsic factors that drive intraspecific variation in egg size. We also highlight the relative paucity of these data in the literature and provide some suggestions for future research directions.

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				R. B. Emlet, S. A. Maslakova, A. L. Shanks, and C. M. Young Biological Bulletin Virtual Symposium: Biology of Marine Invertebrate Larvae Biol. Bull., June 1, 2009; 216(3): 201 - 202. [Full Text] [PDF]