Role of population traits and local social interactions in sex-change plasticity of the protandric marine gastropod Crepidula coquimbensis

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 458:123-132 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09739 Role of population traits and local social interactions in sex-change plasticity of the protandric marine gastropod Crepidula coquimbensis Antonio Brante*, Carlos Vilches, Adriana Quiñones Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Casilla 297, Concepción, Chile *Email: abrante@ucsc.cl ABSTRACT: Theoretical and experimental work suggests that time to sex change in sequential hermaphrodites may be strongly linked to local population traits and the social environment of the individuals. We evaluated social control and temporal and spatial plasticity in the sex-change response of the protandric marine gastropod Crepidula coquimbensis, which inhabits the empty shells of other gastropods and reproduces via direct development. Over 2 yr, 2 populations with significant genetic distance were sampled, and the abundance, population sex ratio, and sex ratio within hosting shells was measured. Reproductive responses, minimum female size, and the size at which 50% of the males changed sex to female (L50) were calculated for each location and sampling date. The sex ratio was male-biased in all cases. High temporal and spatial variability in the abundance, sex ratio, and body size at sex change was observed. However, negative and significant correlations were found between minimum female size and number of males in the aggregation and between population sex ratio and L50. Although earlier studies have suggested that sex-change strategy of gastropod species with direct development is less plastic and responsive to conspecifics, the present work indicates that the protandric marine gastropod C. coquimbensis may adjust its sexual strategy to local social conditions. KEY WORDS: Sequential hermaphroditism · Life-history strategy · Size advantage · Population genetics · Sex ratio Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Brante A, Vilches C, Quiñones A (2012) Role of population traits and local social interactions in sex-change plasticity of the protandric marine gastropod Crepidula coquimbensis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 458:123-132. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09739 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 458. Online publication date: July 03, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.