Vol. 2026 No. 3 (2026)
Articles

Sexual selection, cognition, and life stage in male crayfish

Benjamin Johnson
Yale University,New Haven, Connecticut,06511, USA
Mary Martinez
Yale University,New Haven, Connecticut,06511, USA

Published 29-05-2026

Keywords

  • Procambarus clarkii,
  • sexual selection,
  • "Y" maze, fighting

How to Cite

[1]
B. Johnson and M. Martinez, “Sexual selection, cognition, and life stage in male crayfish”, Camb. Sci. Adv., vol. 2026, no. 3, pp. 20–25, May 2026, doi: 10.62852/csa/2026/257.

Abstract

The experiment selected male red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) with body weights of (5±1) g, (10±1) g, and (15±1) g. Female and male crayfish of the same size were placed at both ends of a "Y" maze as information sources for choice experiments. The results showed that: (5±1) g male crayfish had no sexual cognition; (10±1) g male crayfish exhibited preliminary sexual cognition; and (15±1) g male crayfish demonstrated mature sexual cognition. The experimental results suggest that mature male crayfish possess relatively strong aggressiveness during the non-breeding season, making them unsuitable for high-density culture.

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