Life-history responses of a mayfly to seasonal constraints and predation risk

Abstract

1. An experiment was conducted in the laboratory to examine the effects of photoperiod and predation risk on life-history variation in the mayfly Ephemerella subvaria. 2. Both photoperiod and predation risk affected age at maturity significantly but neither factor affected size at maturity. Mayflies perceiving themselves to be late in the growing season matured in fewer days than those perceiving themselves to be early in the growing season. The presence of predators delayed mayfly maturity significantly. 3. These results suggest that the large variation in life-history traits observed in aquatic insects may be attributed partially to seasonality but that other biotic and abiotic factors may also underlie variation in these traits.