Why Are There No Reports Of Eusocial Marine Crustaceans

Eusociality, a social system characterized by colonial living, extended parental care, a few reproducing individuals and functionally sterile worker castes, has been described in terrestrial arthropod species such as ants, bees and termites, and even in mammals, but no such observations have been reported in the marine arthropods. In this paper we explore the possible ecological and life history traits of certain marine arthropods which may predispose them to eusocial behavior. Our goal is to point out the possibility of the presence of eusocial marine forms, and to urge marine biologists to look for them.