Geographic, genetic and life-history variability in a sex-changing fish

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Geographic, genetic and life-history variability in a sex-changing fish Chiara Benvenuto1* and Stefano Mariani1 1 University of Salford, School of Environment & Life Sciences, United Kingdom Sequential hermaphroditism, commonly referred to as sex change or sex reversal, is a striking phenomenon in mating-system evolution and the most remarkable example of sexual plasticity. Among vertebrates, it is specific to teleosts. Some fish species reproduce initially as females and then change into males (protogynous hermaphrodites) or vice versa (protandrous hermaphrodites). The white sea bream, Diplodus sargus, exhibits a high degree of sexual plasticity: populations have been reported to be gonochoristic, protandrous or digynic (with primary females, derived from intersexual juveniles, and secondary females, derived from males). We analysed populations collected from eight different locations across the species distribution range (between the Mediterranean and the North-Eastern Atlantic). These populations are characterized by different degrees of connectivity, spatial demographics and life histories. Using individual-based analyses, we linked the genetic structure of each specimen with environmental heterogeneity, life-history traits and reproductive modes. Our aim is to gather a better understanding of the variation in reproductive life-history strategies in this sexually plastic species. Diplodus sargus is a valuable candidate organism to investigate sequential hermaphroditism and it also has a commercial value. The application of population genetics tools against the background of life-history theory can bring valuable insights for the management of marine resources. The geographical patterns of sex change (and of age- and size-at-sex change) linked with population genetics can be pivotal for both theoretical investigations and conservation and management plans in marine areas. Acknowledgements Funded by IRCSET (Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology) EMPOWER Fellowship. The authors are grateful to Dr Mercedes González-Wangüemert and Dr Fernando Cánovas García (CCMAR); Dr Paulo Jorge de Sousa Maranhão and Nuno Vasco Rodriguez (IPL); Dr Yann Coupeau (IFREMER); Dr Eva Giacomello, Dr Mirko De Girolamo and Dr Sergio Stefanni (DOP); Dr Ljiljana Iveša (CIM); Dr Alessandro Voliani (ARPAT); Dr Julien Chopelet (UCD) and everyone who made the sample collection possible Keywords: Protandry, Diplodus sargus, Sequential hermaphroditism, population structure, Reproductive strategies Conference: XV European Congress of Ichthyology, Porto, Portugal, 7 Sep - 11 Sep, 2015. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Life Cycles, Migration and Connectivity Citation: Benvenuto C and Mariani S (2015). Geographic, genetic and life-history variability in a sex-changing fish. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XV European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2015.03.00120 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 24 Nov 2015; Published Online: 24 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Chiara Benvenuto, University of Salford, School of Environment & Life Sciences, Salford, M54WT, United Kingdom, c.benvenuto@salford.ac.uk Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Chiara Benvenuto Stefano Mariani Google Chiara Benvenuto Stefano Mariani Google Scholar Chiara Benvenuto Stefano Mariani PubMed Chiara Benvenuto Stefano Mariani Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.