Ref ID : 1310
Claudia Ricci and Umberto Fascio; Life-history consequences of resource allocation of two bdelloid rotifer species. Hydrobiologia 299:231-239, 1995
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Two bdelloid species, Macrotrachela quadricornifera (aquatic species) and Philodina vorax (terrestrial moss species), with similar survival but different age-specific schedules, were analyzed daily to determine growth rates and the volume invested in reproduction. The two species had similar growth patterns and started reproduction while still growing. In both, the size at maturity was independent of age. M. quadricornifera resumed growth after reaching a size plateau when reproduction was over, while P. vorax continued to reproduce until death. Although the net reproductive rate of P. vorax was consistently lower than that of M. quadricornifera, the same percent of adult volume was invested in reproduction over its life time because its eggs were relatively bigger. The difference in reproductive rates is probably related to different partitioning of equal amounts relative biomass: more small eggs for the 'aquatic' rotifer vs. fewer big eggs for the 'terrestrial' rotifer. Egg size might be related to the selective pressures of the environments.