Reproduction
The males exhibit dimorphism, where the territorial males build a ball-shaped nest of seaweed in rock crevices or sedimentary areas, amongst seaweed or seagrasses. The nest has an entrance hole which the male guards aggressively. The other morph mimics the females and tries to sneak-fertilize. The sneakers are much smaller than the territorial males, and you can not visually distinguish between the sneaker morph and the females. As there is a trade-off between reproductive investment and growth the sneakers have much larger gonads related to body size than the territorial males. The sperm quality is also shown to be better for the sneaker as it is longer-lived. 5 - 20% of the males in a population tend to be sneakers.
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Famous quotes containing the word reproduction:
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—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)
“Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it “the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.” The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of “Artist.””
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