ABSTRACT
The very presence of gonochorics, sequential hermaphrodites and parthenogenics within Crustacea suggests the operation of diverse mechanisms of sex determination. The determination ranges from genetic, as in some penaeids, to primarily genetic with autosomal modulations, perhaps at the downstream level of genetic cascade of differentiation, as in many sessile and parasitic crustaceans. Genes involved in sex determination may be located on a single sex chromosome with or without autosomal inuence on sex determination or restricted to a single gene locus (e.g. androgenic gland gene, LAC). The polygenic sex determination system, when strongly inuenced by one or other environmental factor, induces wide exibility in sex ratios. As in aquatic animals like shes (see Pandian, 2014, p 1), the reproductive strategy of crustaceans seems to sustain and increase genetic diversity and/or reproductive success.
