ABSTRACT
Reproduction is the function which ensures the survival of the species and the multiplication of individuals. Crustaceans, with the exception of some protandrous hermaphrodites such as the Tanaidacea, the cirripedes, some parasitic isopods and, in the decapods, some shrimps belonging to the Pandalidae and to the Hippolytides are all dioecious, that is individuals are either male or female. Crustacean reproduction is a series of periodic events under hormone control which can also be influenced by external factors: photoperiod, temperature, salinity and diet. In females the growth of the ovary and vitellogenesis determine the capacity for reproduction; in males the equivalent process is spermatogenesis. Reproduction and somatic growth in both sexes require the intake of building material and energy. The nature of the antagonism between moulting and reproduction is variable. The antagonism between reproduction and moulting is extremely pronounced in the Reptantia where the long intermoult period allows at least one reproductive cycle.
