Life Sciences Commons^™

Factors Affecting Parental Investment Strategies In Male Waterbugs, Scott Kight

Scott Kight

Male giant waterbugs (Belostoma flumineum Say) brood eggs oviposited on their dorsi by conspecific females. Preliminary observations indicate that viable egg pads are sometimes discarded before hatching. Theory predicts that such behavior should occur only if costs incurred by brooding exceed benefits of hatching the egg pad. The amount of paternal investment per pad should be similar for both large and small pad sizes, but as egg pads become smaller, investment per egg increases. Thus, smaller pads should be more likely to be discarded unhatched than larger ones. Similarly, egg pads containing inviable eggs should also be more frequently …