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ABSTRACT
Growth and development rates of Armadillidium vulgare from when deposited as eggs in the marsupium through juvenile and adult life are described.
Analysis of the increase in ash content as well as of total mass as the young develop shows that organic, as well as mineral, material is absorbed from the parent while offspring are developing in the brood pouch.
Reaction norms are presented for four growth and three developmental traits in response to changes in both food quality and temperature. The traits most sensitive to changes in food quality were growth period and the proportion of individuals that became gravid, whereas those most sensitive to changes in temperature were growth of juveniles and developmental periods before and during the gravid period.
The different levels of phenotypic plasticity of adult growth and development result in maturation being earlier and at a smaller size in response to increased temperature, but at a larger size in response to an increase in food quality.