Ecological and evolutionary consequences of alternative sex-change pathways in fish

Benvenuto, C; Coscia, I; Chopelet, J; Sala-Bozano, M; Mariani, S

Abstract

Sequentially hermaphroditic fish change sex from male to female (protandry) or vice versa (protogyny), increasing their fitness by becoming highly fecund females or large dominant males, respectively. These life-history strategies present different social organizations and reproductive modes, from near-random mating in protandry, to aggregate- and harem-spawning in protogyny. Using a combination of theoretical and molecular approaches, we compared variance in reproductive success (Vk*) and effective population sizes (Ne) in several species of sex-changing fish. We observed that, regardless of the direction of sex change, individuals conform to the same overall strategy, producing more offspring and exhibiting greater Vk* in the second sex. However, protogynous species show greater Vk*, especially pronounced in haremic species, resulting in an overall reduction of Ne compared to protandrous species. Collectively and independently, our results demonstrate that the direction of sex change is a pivotal variable in predicting demographic changes and resilience in sex-changing fish, many of which sustain highly valued and vulnerable fisheries worldwide.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 25, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Aug 22, 2017
• Publication Date: Aug 22, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 25, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 23, 2017
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Print ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 9804
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09298-8
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09298-8
• Related Public URLs: http://www.nature.com/srep/