Clutch detachment in a copepod after capture by a predator

When the egg-carrying copepod, Eudiaptomus gracilis, is capturedby larvae of predatory Chaoborus species (C.obscuripes or C.flavicans)in laboratory experiments, the external egg clutch detachesin 16-29% of caw, thereby allowing the eggs to escape from ingestion.Clutch detachment may be due to active removal by the femalebefore she is eaten or the result of accidental loss by thepredator during handling. Detached clutches were significantlylarger than thase that were ingested along with the female.Clutch detachment is advantageous to the female since ingestedeggs are lost, whereas detached eggs hatch normally and maypotentially propagate the genotype. Chaoborus predation maytherefore influence the evolution of clutch size and the degreeof iteroparity in Eudiaptomus.