Reversed sex change by widowed males in polygynous and protogynous fishes: female removal experiments in the field |
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Authors: | Tetsuo Kuwamura Shohei Suzuki Tatsuru Kadota |
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Institution: | (1) School of International Liberal Studies, Chukyo University, Nagoya 466-8666, Japan;(2) Transdisciplinary Research Organization for Subtropics and Island Studies, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan;(3) Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Nagasaki 851-2213, Japan |
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Abstract: | Sex change, either protogyny (female to male) or protandry (male to female), is well known among fishes, but evidence of bidirectional
sex change or reversed sex change in natural populations is still very limited. This is the first report on female removal
experiments for polygnous and protogynous fish species to induce reversed sex change in the widowed males in the field. We
removed all of the females and juveniles from the territories of dominant males in the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus (Labridae) and the rusty angelfish Centropyge ferrugata (Pomacanthidae) on the coral reefs of Okinawa. In both species, if new females or juveniles did not immigrate into the territories
of the widowed males, some of them emigrated to form male–male pairs. When a male–male pair formed, the smaller, subordinate
partner began to perform female sexual behaviours (n = 4 in L. dimidiatus; n = 2 in C. ferrugata) and, finally, released eggs (n = 1, respectively). Thus, the reversed sex change occurred in the widowed males according to the change of their social status.
These results suggest that such female removal experiments will contribute to the discovery of reversed sex change in the
field also in other polygnous and protogynous species. |
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