Life Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Food Availability On Reproduction And Brood Size In A Freshwater Brooding Bivalve, Mark Beekey, Ronald H. Karlson

Biology Faculty Publications

Brood size is often constrained by the amount of energy available to produce offspring. Yet, energetic constraints may not be as important if the physical capacity to brood offspring is limited. Investigating the relative importance of energetic and physical constraints on brood size is necessary to understand how reproductive strategies are molded by natural selection. We investigated how food availability affects brood size in Sphaerium striatinum, a freshwater bivalve. We reared juveniles to adulthood under three food levels in a common garden experiment. The number of reproductive attempts, brood size, and stage of offspring development were measured. Clams reared …