COLLIN, R; STRI, Panama: Interspecific comparisons of size, sex and sex change in Crepidula

The size advantage hypothesis predicts that the optimal size at sex change for each individual is a function of the size and sex of each animal�s potential mates. In species that form small mating groups, variation in group composition may result in more variation in size at sex change across the population as a whole than in species that do not form mating groups. I use data on the size, sex, and grouping of individuals of 8 species of Crepidula, a genus of protandrous marine gastropods, to compare the effects of stacking on the variation in size at sex change across species. This data can also be used to provide predictions of the relationship between male size and reproductive output that will subsequently be tested with molecular analysis of paternity.