IBBEA   24401
INSTITUTO DE BIODIVERSIDAD Y BIOLOGIA EXPERIMENTAL Y APLICADA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Hard-shell mating in Neohelice granulata: the role of ecdysone in female receptivity and mate attraction
Autor/es:
MEDESANI, DANIEL; SAL MOYANO, MARÍA PAZ; MCLAY, COLIN; LUPPI, TOMÁS; RODRÍGUEZ, ENRIQUE M.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2017 vol. 203 p. 233 - 243
ISSN:
0340-7594
Resumen:
Most brachyuran females become receptive during the intermolt period, a condition considered ?derived?. However, as far as we know, studies testing the existenceand function of pheromones in decapods are based on species which have mating linked to molting, a condition considered as ?ancestral?. For the first time, we studied some physiological and morphological processes involved in Neohelice granulata intermolt female crabs becoming receptive and potentially attracting males. We found that receptive females have mobile vulvae opercula due to a softening process of the cuticle hinge which showed lower calcium levels compared to the hinge of unreceptive females. Local softening of the hinge was stimulated by a low concentration of ecdysone during the intermolt period. A putative pheromone liberated by receptive females to attract males is presumed to be released through the mobile vulvae and not through the urine.