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

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 n...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Benvenuto, C., Coscia, I., Chopelet, J., Sala-Bozano, M., Mariani, S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5567342/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28831108
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09298-8
Descripción
Sumario: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 (V (k)*) and effective population sizes (N (e)) 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 V (k)* in the second sex. However, protogynous species show greater V (k)*, especially pronounced in haremic species, resulting in an overall reduction of N (e) 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.