Sexual System, Sex Ratio, and Group Living in the Shrimp Thor amboinensis (De Man): Relevance to Resource-Monopolization and Sex-Allocation Theories


Autoria(s): BAEZA, J. A.; PIANTONI, C.
Contribuinte(s)

UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO

Data(s)

20/10/2012

20/10/2012

2010

Resumo

The sexual system of the symbiotic shrimp Thor amboinensis is described, along with observations on sex ratio and host-use pattern of different populations. We used a comprehensive approach to elucidate the previously unknown sexual system of this shrimp. Dissections, scanning electron microscopy, size-frequency distribution analysis, and laboratory observations demonstrated that T amboinensis is a protandric hermaphrodite: shrimp first mature as males and change into females later in life. Thor amboinensis inhabited the large and structurally heterogeneous sea anemone Stichoclactyla helianthus in large groups (up to 11 individuals) more frequently than expected by chance alone. Groups exhibited no particularly complex social structure and showed male-biased sex ratios more frequently than expected by chance alone. The adult sex ratio was male-biased in the four separate populations studied, one of them being thousands of kilometers apart from the others. This study supports predictions central to theories of resource monopolization and sex allocation. Dissections demonstrated that unusually large males were parasitized by an undescribed species of isopod (family Entoniscidae). Infestation rates were similarly low in both sexes (approximate to 11%-12%). The available information suggests that T. amboinensis uses pure search promiscuity as a mating system. This hypothesis needs to be formally tested with mating behavior observations and field measurements on the movement pattern of both sexes of the species. Further detailed studies on the lifestyle and sexual system of all the species within this genus and the development of a molecular phylogeny are necessary to elucidate the evolutionary history of gender expression in the genus Thor.

Marine Science Network

Marine Science Network

Smithsonian Institution through the Johnson and Hunterdon Oceanographic Research Endowment

Smithsonian Institution through the Johnson and Hunterdon Oceanographic Research Endowment

National Geographic Society

National Geographic Society

Smithsonian Marine Station

Smithsonian Marine Station

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI, Panama)

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI, Panama)

Identificador

BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN, v.219, n.2, p.151-165, 2010

0006-3185

http://producao.usp.br/handle/BDPI/27762

http://apps.isiknowledge.com/InboundService.do?Func=Frame&product=WOS&action=retrieve&SrcApp=EndNote&UT=000283625000008&Init=Yes&SrcAuth=ResearchSoft&mode=FullRecord

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

Relação

Biological Bulletin

Direitos

restrictedAccess

Copyright MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

Palavras-Chave #LYSMATA-WURDEMANNI CARIDEA #LIFE-HISTORY #HERMAPHRODITIC SHRIMP #MATING TACTICS #DECAPODA #ANEMONE #HIPPOLYTIDAE #EVOLUTION #ANIMALS #CRUSTACEANS #Biology #Marine & Freshwater Biology
Tipo

article

original article

publishedVersion