Evolutionary trade-off in reproduction of Cambrian arthropods
Qiang Ou, Jean Vannier, Xianfeng Yang, Ailin Chen, Huijuan Mai, Degan Shu, Jian Han, Dongjing Fu, Rong Wang, Georg Mayer
Abstract
, from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of Canada, also brooded young, but carried fewer (≤ 26 per clutch), larger (Ø, ~2.0 mm) eggs. The notable differences in clutch/egg sizes between these two species suggest an evolutionary trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring. The shift toward fewer, larger eggs might be an adaptive response to marine ecosystem changes through the early-middle Cambrian. We hypothesize that reproductive trade-offs might have facilitated the evolutionary success of early arthropods.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyOffspringArthropodReproductionEcologyLife history theoryAvian clutch sizeTrade-offBody planExtant taxonZoologyEvolutionary biologyLife historyFisheryEmbryoGeneticsPregnancyPaleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsMarine Biology and Ecology ResearchMarine and coastal plant biology