ecology of phasmids - KLUEDO - Universität Kaiserslautern
ecology of phasmids - KLUEDO - Universität Kaiserslautern
ecology of phasmids - KLUEDO - Universität Kaiserslautern
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Life history & potential population growth 37<br />
Table 3-1: Estimates <strong>of</strong> demographic population parameters and life history traits <strong>of</strong> M. diocles. All data were<br />
based on lab records. Differences were tested by Student’s T-tests.<br />
Sex ratio 249 245<br />
Body weight ± StDev [g]<br />
Body length ± StDev [mm]<br />
Mean female fecundity ± StDev<br />
[eggs*day -1 *ind. -1 ]<br />
Egg developmental time ± StDev<br />
[days]<br />
Nymph developmental time<br />
± StDev [days]<br />
Mean adult lifetime<br />
± StDev [days]<br />
Females Males Difference<br />
1.44 ± 0.29<br />
N = 79<br />
84.15 ± 2.85<br />
N = 122<br />
0.66 ± 1.18<br />
N = 99<br />
108 ± 13.9<br />
N = 7<br />
59.96 ± 40.77<br />
N = 69<br />
71.22 ± 9.69<br />
N = 1958<br />
0.41 ± 0.04<br />
N = 28<br />
67.7 ± 2.47<br />
N = 126<br />
99.8 ± 15.14<br />
N = 12<br />
46.73 ± 27.84<br />
N = 83<br />
Maximum adult lifetime [days] 177 122<br />
Mean generation time [days] 239 218<br />
T = -18.4, df = 105, P < 0.01<br />
T = -48.6, df =246, P < 0.01<br />
T = -2.4, df = 150, P < 0.05<br />
Independently from sex, mean developmental time (egg and nymph development) was longer than mean<br />
adult lifetime. Development for females lasted in average 179 days; three times longer than mean adult<br />
lifetime <strong>of</strong> (60 days; cf. Table 3-1). Similarly, male developmental time took more than three times as<br />
long as male mean adult lifetime (171 vs. 47 days).<br />
Mean generation time for M. diocles lasted approximately eight months (Table 3-1) with female life<br />
span taking three weeks longer than for males. Even under consideration <strong>of</strong> maximum values for adult<br />
lifetime developmental and mature periods in M. diocles populations overlap only marginally (4 days<br />
for males, no overlap for females; cf. Table 3-1). Consequently generations in M. diocles were<br />
considered as distinct.