North Pyrenean populations of Megabunus diadema (Fabricius, 1779) (Arachnida: Opiliones) are characterized by highly male-biased sex ratios

Abstract

Megabunus diadema (Fabricius, 1779) is an Atlantic and European harvestman species characterized by a discontinuous distribution from Scandinavia to the Iberian Peninsula. With very few male individuals ever observed in the field until now, the biological uniqueness of the species lies in its reproduction mode, hitherto regarded as asexual, facultative parthenogenesis. Based on a large sample of 741 sexed individuals, the study indicates a sex ratio much higher than what was formerly known, equal to 65.58% of males. Locally varying from 0 to 100% (median 75.5% of males), the sex ratio depends indeed on the altitude and the phenological cycle: the proportion of males decreases with increasing altitude and increases gradually during the spring to reach a plateau in summer. By describing populations locally dominated by male individuals and providing new information on the spatial and temporal patterns of tertiary sex ratio, we question the currently admitted reproduction mode of the species which could be normally sexual, at least locally, rather than asexual. A distribution map of the species on the northern slope of the Pyrenees is provided for the first time. Our study also complements the distribution for the southern slopes of the Pyrenees and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula published recently by Merino-Sainz et al. (2013).