Abstract
Because sexuality plays an essential role in gene transmission and consequently in the evolution of species, investment into male or female function constitutes a key factor in the reproductive success of individuals. Environmental sex determination permits adaptive sex choice under unpredictable environmental conditions, where the environment affects sex–specific fitness, and where offspring can predict their likely adult status by monitoring an appropriate environmental cue. The parasitic copepod Pachypygus gibber displays three sexual phenotypes (i.e. one female and two kinds of male) which are environmentally determined (i.e. after conception and in response to environmental cues). Here, we report an experimental analysis on the combined action, during larval development, of availability of food resources and sexual partners in the sex determination of this species.