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Summary: Behav Ecol Sociobiol (1996) 38 : 279286 © Springer-Verlag 1996
Locke Rowe · Göran Arnqvist
Analysis of the causal components of assortative
mating in water striders
Received: 17 March 1995/Accepted after revision: 28 October 1995
Abstract Field studies demonstrate that natural popu-
lations of a group of water striders (Heteroptera:
Gerridae) that share a common mating system are char-
acterized by weak assortative mating by size and by
large sizes of mating males and females relative to
single individuals. This study presents an experimental
assessment of the components of mating that may
contribute to these mating patterns. The effects of male
and female body size on each of three components of
mating were studied in three water strider species in
the laboratory. Large females of all three species mated
more frequently, copulated for longer and were guarded
longer than small females. Large males mated more
frequently than small males in all three species, and
also guarded females for longer in the two species where
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