2006/03/01 by Vladimir Laptikhovsky · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine and coastal plant biology #Marine and fisheries research #Physiological and biochemical adaptations
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.2006.00077.x
openalex publication_date 2006/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract The inverse relationship between egg size in marine animals and water temperature was simultaneously described by two outstanding marine scientists: G. Thorson and T.S. Rass. This rule consists of two different phenomena. Thorson's rule describes ecological processes related to changes in larval biology and morphology that are caused by a selective pressure of natural selection on the different types of larval development. It belongs to the realm of macro‐evolution. Rass's rule describes physiological processes within populations and species, and between closely related species. This is not related to changes in reproductive strategy, and therefore belongs to the realm of micro‐evolution and to the early stages of macro‐evolution. Populations begin to produce larger eggs in colder environments because of phenotypic plasticity. Thorson's rule describes temperature‐dependent changes in the relative abundance of small‐ and large‐egged species, whereas Rass's rule describes a temperature‐dependent relative position of both groups within an adaptive range of reproductive strategies.