Polygamous mating system and protogynous sex change in the gobiid fish Fusigobius neophytus

Abstract

Whereas mating behaviors and social structure have been studied extensively in monogamous hermaphroditic gobiid species, such studies are relatively limited for polygamous gobiid species. To investigate the reproductive strategy of polygamous gobies, mating groups of the common fusegoby Fusigobius neophytus were observed on reefs of Kuchierabu-jima Island, southern Japan. Males established mating nests on flat-rock surfaces within their territorial home ranges on sandy rubble flats. Females maintained independent home ranges outside the male home ranges during nonreproductive periods, but they shifted their home ranges to overlap with male ranges and actively visited male mating nests during their reproductive periods (1–3 days at ca. 7-day intervals). Females often changed mates during their serial mating. The mating system used by the common fusegoby fits with the definition of male-territory-visiting polygamy. The sex ratio within the study population was female-biased. Nest-holding males were significantly larger than females and were polygynous (mating with up to eight females). These characteristics fit well with the prediction of protogyny by the size-advantage model. Some of the females were observed to undergo functional sex changes to nest-holding males. In addition, small floating males demonstrated sneaking behavior. None of the floating males were derived from females that had changed sex, suggesting a diandric life-history pathway for F. neophytus.