Monogamy and sex role reversal in the pipefish Corythoichthys haematopterus

Matsumoto, Koji; Yanagisawa, Yasunobu

doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1550

Cited by 45 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The logical conclusion seems to be that Nerophis lumbriciformis is not a rocky intertidal resident fish but rather a fish that probably spends most of its time in the subtidal [it is found as deep as 30 m, as stated by Dawson (1986) and Wheeler (1969), and as observed (by scuba diving) in the adjacent subtidal area (Monteiro, personal observation)], making some visits to the rocky intertidal, often to very precise locations. The ability to return to a very specific location on a regular basis has been previously demonstrated in at least two syngnathids, Corythoichthys haematopterus (Matsumoto and Yanagisawa, 2001) and Hippocampus comes (Perante et al, 2002).…”

Section: Site Fidelity and Homingmentioning

confidence: 85%

Homing behaviour and individual identification of the pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis (Pisces; Syngnathidae): a true intertidal resident?

Monteiro

Vieira

Almada

2005

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Syngnathids have been the focus of growing interest due to their peculiar reproductive biology and vulnerability to environmental degradation and overcollecting. In this study, near the south limit of the species' geographic distribution, a description of the homing behaviour of the worm pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis, based on the unique facial pigmentation patterns, is presented. Even though the amount of facial pigmentation was substantially higher in larger adult females, suggesting that it can be part of the secondary sexual repertoire of this sex role reversed species, this technique allowed for the positive identification of adult individuals (males and females) during at least 19 months. Recaptures showed that this pipefish shows a strong homing behaviour, with individuals being regularly captured within less than 2 m of the original identification event. The absence of horizontal migrations to adjacent areas and the observation of adults in the subtidal, together with the overall low number of recaptures (even though some individuals were cyclically resighted) highlighted the fact that the intertidal is not N. lumbriciformis' permanent residence. This observation also demonstrates that the estimation of the population size, important for conservation purposes, based solely on intertidal data can be misleading because captured individuals are only a fraction of a larger, mainly subtidal, population.

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Section: Site Fidelity and Homingmentioning

confidence: 85%

Homing behaviour and individual identification of the pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis (Pisces; Syngnathidae): a true intertidal resident?

Monteiro

Vieira

Almada

2005

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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“…Females of Syngnathus can repeat spawning within a short period of time, enabling the allocation of eggs among several males (Berglund et al 1988). In C. haematopterus, females extrude all mature eggs as a single sheet to transfer them to the male's brood pouch (Matsumoto & Yanagisawa 2001). After spawning, female C. haematopterus are unable to spawn a new clutch for 10-19 days .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A monogamous pipefish has the same type of ovary as observed in monogamous seahorses

Sogabe

Matsumoto²,

Ohashi

et al. 2008

Biol. Lett.

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Syngnathid fish (pipefish and seahorses) are unique among teleost fish in that their ovary consists of a rolled sheet with germinal ridge(s) on the dorsal side running along the entire length of the sheet. A distinct difference is seen in the ovarian structure between polygamous Syngnathus pipefish and monogamous seahorses ( Hippocampus spp.), the former having one germinal ridge and the latter with two ridges. This study examined the ovarian structure and the mode of egg production in a monogamous pipefish Corythoichthys haematopterus . The ovary of C. haematopterus had two germinal ridges like that observed in monogamous seahorses. There were two distinct groups of follicles in the ovary, one being a cohort of extremely small follicles and the other a cohort of follicles developing and increasing in size with the passage of time. We suggest that the ovarian structure and the mode of egg production in this pipefish are adaptations to monogamy.

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“…The pipefish Corythoichthys haematopterus clearly mates monogamously, but in a wild population where the operational sex ratio was consistently skewed toward an excess of females, behavioral observations indicated female-female competition (Matsumoto and Yanagisawa 2001).…”

Section: Correlated Evolution Of Sex Roles and Mating Patternsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…), the monogamous mating pattern is well documented both socially (Vincent and Sadler 1995;Kvarnemo et al 2000;Masonjones and Lewis 2000;Perante et al 2002) and genetically (Jones and Avise 2001) and social monogamy has been confirmed among Corythoichthys spp. pipefishes (Gronell 1984;Matsumoto and Yanagisawa 2001). In both of these genera, the female transfers a full clutch to her mate, either into the male's brooding pouch (seahorses) or as a sheet of eggs onto the brooding structure of Corythoichthys spp.…”

Section: Correlated Evolution Of Sex Roles and Mating Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dynamics of Male Brooding, Mating Patterns, and Sex Roles in Pipefishes and Seahorses (Family Syngnathidae)

et al. 2003

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Abstract. Modern theory predicts that relative parental investment of the sexes in their young is a key factor responsible for sexual selection. Seahorses and pipefishes (family Syngnathidae) are extraordinary among fishes in their remarkable adaptations for paternal care and frequent occurrences of sex-role reversals (i.e., female-female competition for mates), offering exceptional opportunities to test predictions of sexual selection theory. During mating, the female transfers eggs into or onto specialized egg-brooding structures that are located on either the male's abdomen or its tail, where they are osmoregulated, aerated, and nourished by specially adapted structures. All syngnathid males exhibit this form of parental care but the brooding structures vary, ranging from the simple ventral gluing areas of some pipefishes to the completely enclosed pouches found in seahorses. We present a molecular phylogeny that indicates that the diversification of pouch types is positively correlated with the major evolutionary radiation of the group, suggesting that this extreme development and diversification of paternal care may have been an important evolutionary innovation of the Syngnathidae. Based on recent studies that show that the complexity of brooding structures reflects the degree of paternal investment in several syngnathid species, we predicted sex-role reversals to be more common among species with more complex brooding structures. In contrast to this prediction, however, both parsimony-and likelihoodbased reconstructions of the evolution of sex-role reversal in pipefishes and seahorses suggest multiple shifts in sex roles in the group, independent from the degree of brood pouch development. At the same time, our data demonstrate that sex-role reversal is positively associated with polygamous mating patterns, whereas most nonreversed species mate monogamously, suggesting that selection for polygamy or monogamy in pipefishes and seahorses may strongly influence sex roles in the wild. In the vast majority of animals, the male's sole contribution to his offspring is his sperm (Trivers 1972). As a result, even when the observed sex ratio of males to females is equal, the operational sex ratio is often biased toward males and males almost universally compete more strongly for mates, while females typically exert greater mate choice (Darwin 1871;Emlen and Oring 1977). Although most egg-laying fishes leave their eggs unprotected after spawning, sole male care is the predominant pattern in those species that care for their young (Blumer 1982). Paternal care is likely to increase offspring fitness, but may reduce the father's ability to invest in other offspring (i.e., a parental investment sensu Trivers 1972).Sex roles are defined by mating competition (Emlen and Oring 1977). Sex-role reversal occurs when females primarily compete for access to mates, as compared to conventional sex roles with male-male mating competition (cf. mating roles, Gwynne 1991). Traditionally, the concept of parental investment has been us...

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Monogamy and sex role reversal in the pipefish Corythoichthys haematopterus

Cited by 45 publications

References 28 publications

Homing behaviour and individual identification of the pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis (Pisces; Syngnathidae): a true intertidal resident?

Homing behaviour and individual identification of the pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis (Pisces; Syngnathidae): a true intertidal resident?

A monogamous pipefish has the same type of ovary as observed in monogamous seahorses

The Dynamics of Male Brooding, Mating Patterns, and Sex Roles in Pipefishes and Seahorses (Family Syngnathidae)

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