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1.
Many species of pipefish exhibit a reversal of parental roles, in which females insert eggs into the brood pouch of the male where they are incubated until the end of embryonic development. While the significance of the male brood pouch has been examined for over a century, the role of the pouch is still unclear. One possible function is to aid in osmoregulation by buffering embryos from the external environment. To investigate this role, the euryhaline Gulf pipefish, Syngnathus scovelli, was collected and maintained in either a low salinity or a saltwater environment. Changes in plasma and pouch fluid osmolality and morphological changes of the pouch were examined. Brood pouch fluid was similar to male plasma during the early and late stages of the brooding period for low salinity males, but was significantly hyperosmotic during the middle of the brooding period. In saltwater males, brood pouch fluid was similar to plasma during early brooding, but became hyperosmotic as brood time progressed. The brood pouch epithelium of both low salinity and saltwater males contained mitochondria-rich cells. In early brooding saltwater males these cells contained an apical opening into the pouch lumen. Osmotic and morphological differences observed suggest that the brood pouch plays an active role in regulating osmotic concentration of the pouch fluid. Additionally, pouch fluid concentration may be regulated more during early stages of embryonic development.  相似文献   

2.
The sex-role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle is a member of the Syngnathidae, a family of fishes in which males brood embryos on their body surface. As in most ectotherms, embryonic development is highly temperature dependent in syngnathids and male brooding periods are extended when water temperatures are reduced. The influence of temperature on reproduction is expected to effectively truncate the breeding season and reduce fecundity in cold waters, potentially enhancing the opportunity for both fecundity and sexual selection. We studied spatial variation in the morphology and reproductive biology of S. typhle in five European populations which vary in latitude and water temperature. Microsatellite analyses indicated that the average number of male mates per population ranged between 1.3 and 3.7. The frequency of multiple mating by males was negatively correlated with the degree of sexual size dimorphism in each population, suggesting that disproportionate increases in female fecundity may be able to compensate for increased male brood pouch capacity. Both sexes were larger and males had an increased brood size where water temperatures during the breeding season were lower. Morphological variation among populations may be mediated by differences in fecundity selection associated with different optimal reproductive strategies in cold and warm water environments.  相似文献   

3.
We investigated the breeding season and size at maturation and described the morphology of newly released Hippichthys spicifer larvae collected from the estuaries of four rivers on northern Okinawa-jima Island, southern Japan. The minimum size of brooding males was 108 mm standard length (SL). The smallest mature female, as estimated from gonadosomatic index (GSI) analysis and histological observations of gonads, was about 100 mm SL. Histological observations showed the gonad of H. spicifer to be a cylindrical tube with a sequential pattern of follicle development and a single germinal ridge. We surmised that the breeding season is year-round, as shown by monthly changes in female GSI, gonad histology, and monthly changes in the occurrence of brooding males. The monthly changes in female GSI and proportions of brooding males were small in winter. The number of eggs in the male brood pouch ranged from 114 to 1,764 (604.4 ± 322.8, mean ± standard deviation; n = 25). The SL of the released larvae was 9.9 mm. All fins except the pectoral fins were formed, the body was elongated, and the developmental stage was similar to that of other Urophori species. The smallest individual present in the mangrove areas of estuaries was 78.0 mm SL.  相似文献   

4.
Relationships between male size, number, and weight of newborn were determined in the seaweed pipefish, Syngnathus schlegeli, with paternal care of embryos in the brood pouch. While the number of newborn increased linearly with the increase in male size, the pouch volume increased exponentially with the male size. This resulted in embryo density in the pouch negatively correlating with the male size. Newborn dry weight was negatively correlated with the embryo density in the pouch. Thus, larger males were considered to brood embryos at lower densities and give birth to heavier newborn. Neither paternal size nor embryo density seemed to have an effect upon developmental stage and total length of the newborn. Substantial weight loss of embryos during incubation indicated that paternal nutritional contribution to embryos is insignificant; therefore, the tendency of larger males to produce heavier newborn may not relate to allocation of paternal nourishment. Because egg weight increased with the female size, larger males are considered to receive the eggs of larger females and give birth to heavier newborn that developed from heavier eggs. Lower embryo density in larger males is attributable to the larger size of the heavier eggs. Assuming the pouch to be a cylindrical tube and the egg to be a sphere, geometrical calculations revealed that the relationship between the volumetric fraction of the pouch used by eggs (i.e. functional volume) and the male size was negatively quadric and had a peak. Increase in egg diameter increased the male size at which the functional volume of the pouch is maximized. Thus it appears that the size relationship of mates in pipefish is related to effective use of the pouch space.  相似文献   

5.
Highly variable microsatellite loci were used to study the mating system of Nerophis ophidion, a species of pipefish in which pregnant males carry embryos on the outside of their body rather than in an enclosed brood pouch. Despite this mode of external fertilization and brooding, otherwise rare in the family Syngnathidae, the genotypes of all embryos proved to be consistent with paternity by the tending male, thus indicating that cuckoldry by sneaker males is rare or nonexistent in this species. N. ophidion is a phylogenetic outlier within the Syngnathidae and its reproductive morphology is thought to be close to the presumed ancestral condition for pipefishes and seahorses. Thus, our genetic results suggest that the evolutionary elaboration of the enclosed brood pouch elsewhere in the family was probably not in response to selection pressures on pregnant males to avoid fertilization thievery. With regard to maternity assignments, our genotypic data are consistent with behavioural observations indicating that females sometimes mate with more than one male during a breeding episode, and that each male carries eggs from a single female. Thus, the polyandrous genetic mating system in this species parallels the social mating system, and both are consistent with a more intense sexual selection operating on females, and the elaboration of secondary sexual characters in that gender.  相似文献   

6.
We investigated the size at maturation, breeding season, and morphological development of larvae and juveniles of a freshwater pipefish Microphis leiaspis, which belongs to Gastrophori, collected from three rivers on the northern part of Okinawa-jima Island, Japan. The minimum size of brooding males was 105–123 mm in standard length (SL). The smallest mature female was estimated to be ca. 130 mm SL from the analysis of gonadosomatic index (GSI) and histological observations of gonads. The breeding season was estimated to be from June to December according to monthly changes in female GSI, histological observations of gonads, and monthly changes in the occurrence of brooding males. The number of eggs in the male brood pouch ranged from 75 to 241 (mean ± SD: 152 ± 52, n = 22). The male releases newly hatched larvae in freshwater areas. After newborns grow in the sea, they return to freshwater areas of the rivers and attain maturity. Microphis leiaspis was conformed to have an amphidromous life history. Notochord length of the released larvae was 6.1 mm, with a well-developed finfold. Larvae attained 11.1 mm SL, formation of the caudal and dorsal fin rays was complete, and the caudal fin became lozenge shaped at 30 days after the release, and juveniles reached 36.0 mm SL at 63 days after release. In the period between 30 and 63 days after the release, formation of all fins except the pectoral fins was completed, and caudal fin rays were extended and sector shaped with deep slits between each fin ray. The morphology of the released larvae of M. leiaspis is similar to that of Gastrophori species, and the morphology of juveniles similar to other species of Microphis.  相似文献   

7.
Latitudinal variations in fitness-related traits have been reported in a variety of organisms. Intraspecific comparison of such traits among populations living under different environmental conditions is an effective approach for elucidating the cause and consequences of such latitudinal variations. In the present study, population demography, seasonal changes in somatic and reproductive conditions, and the occurrence of egg-brooding males were investigated in the seaweed pipefish, Syngnathus schlegeli, collected monthly in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, in order to estimate the reproductive season and mating pattern. The findings were then compared with those reported for a population in Otsuchi Bay, northern Japan. We found that the reproductive season is longer in the Seto Inland Sea population (March–November) than in the Otsuchi Bay population (May–October), although reproductive activity may temporarily cease during August in the Seto Inland Sea population. Males of the Seto Inland Sea population brooded eggs that were at the same developmental stage, suggesting that males mate with only one female in a single brooding episode (i.e., monogamy)—in contrast to the Otsuchi Bay population, where a portion of males brooded eggs consisting of multiple clutches at different developmental stages, suggesting that multiple females contribute to a single brood (i.e., polygamy). Additionally, we found that the standard lengths of both males and females are approximately 30?mm smaller in the Seto Inland Sea than in the Otsuchi Bay population. These results suggest that the multiple mating by males in a single brood and the larger body size in the Otsuchi Bay population are results of fecundity selection on life history and behavioral traits to adapt to the shorter reproductive season and lower reproductive efficiency in this relatively cold environment.  相似文献   

8.
Several studies have shown that mate choice based on condition leads to higher reproductive success of the choosing individual. Yet, a growing body of literature has failed to find support for mate choice based on mate condition, even when the choosing individual would clearly benefit from such a choice. This indicates that animals’ mate choice is often more complex than currently appreciated and that even well-founded expected preferences cannot be taken for granted. Using the broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle, we manipulated male condition experimentally to explore whether it affects female mate choice. In this sex-role-reversed species, males care for the offspring in a specialised brood pouch. Males are the choosier sex, but given the opportunity, females are selective as well. During brooding, males can both provide embryos with nutrients and take up nutrients that originate from eggs deposited in the pouch, and embryo survival correlates positively with male condition. Together, this suggests that it would be beneficial for females to mate with males in high condition. However, we found no female preference for males in better condition. Thus, this study adds to the literature of mate choice that is unaffected by mate condition. Possible reasons for our result are discussed.  相似文献   

9.
In species that provide parental care, individuals should invest adaptively in their offspring in relation to the pre‐ and post‐zygotic care provided by their partners. In the broad‐nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle L., females transfer large, nutrient‐rich eggs into the male brood pouch during mating. The male broods and nourishes the embryos for several weeks before independent juveniles emerge at parturition. Given a choice, females clearly prefer large partners. Yet, females provide protein‐richer eggs when the same individual mates with a smaller than a larger male. In the present study, we allowed each female to mate with one small and one large male, in alternated order. We found a strong effect of female mating order, with larger clutches and higher embryo mortality in first‐ than second‐laid broods, which may suggest that eggs over‐ripen in the ovaries or reflect the negative effects of high embryo density in the brood pouch. In either case, this effect should put constraints on the possibility of a female being selective in mate choice. We also found that small and large males produced embryos of similar size and survival, consistent with the reproductive compensation hypothesis, suggesting that, in this species, larger males provide better nourishment to the embryos than smaller males. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 114 , 639–645.  相似文献   

10.
1. Some syngnathid species show varying degrees of sex role reversal aside from male pregnancy, with females competing for access to mates and sometimes presenting conspicuous secondary sexual characters. Among other variables, brooding space constraints are usually considered a key element in female reproductive success, contributing strongly to the observed morphological and behavioural sexual differences. Nevertheless, a close relationship between sex role reversal and male brooding space limitation has not yet been accurately demonstrated in field studies. 2. The present work, conducted over two consecutive breeding seasons in a wild population of the sex role-reversed pipefish Syngnathus abaster, simultaneously analysed egg number and occupied space, as well as the free area in the male's marsupium. The number of eggs that would fit in the observed unoccupied space was estimated. 3. Contrary to what would be expected, given the marked sexual dimorphism observed in the population studied, where females were larger and more colourful, male brooding space did not appear to limit female reproduction as neither large nor small individuals presented a fully occupied pouch. Interestingly, the largest unoccupied areas of marsupium were found in the larger individuals, although they received more and larger eggs. Laboratory data also showed that larger females lay larger eggs. 4. Together, these results suggest the existence of assortative mating, which may result from: (i) the reluctance of larger males (which tend not to receive small eggs usually laid by small females) to mate with lower quality females, even at the expense of a smaller number of offspring; or (ii) female-female competition, which might strongly reduce the hypothesis of a small female mating with a large male. The potential impact of temperature on reproduction and population dynamics is also discussed in the light of ongoing climatic changes.  相似文献   

11.
Many bird species produce two annual broods during a single breeding season. However, not all individuals reproduce twice in the same year suggesting that double brooding is condition‐dependent. In contrast to most raptors and owls, the barn owl Tyto alba produces two annual clutches in most worldwide distributed populations. Nevertheless, the determinants of double brooding are still poorly studied. We performed such a study in a Swiss barn owl population monitored between 1990 and 2014. The annual frequency of double brooding varied from 0 to 14% for males and 0 to 59% for females. The likelihood of double brooding was higher when individuals initiated their first clutch early rather than late in the season and when males had few rather than many offspring at the first nest. Despite the reproductive benefits of double brooding (single‐ and double‐brooded individuals produced 3.97 ± 0.11 and 7.07 ± 0.24 fledglings, respectively), double brooding appears to be traded off against offspring quality because at the first nest double‐brooded males produced poorer quality offspring than single‐brooded males. This might explain why females desert their first mate to produce a second brood with another male without jeopardizing reproductive success at the first nest. Furthermore, the reproductive cycle being very long in the barn owl (120 d from start of laying to offspring independence), selection may have favoured behaviours that accelerate the initiation of a second annual brood. Accordingly, half of the double‐brooded females abandoned their young offspring to look for a new partner in order to initiate the second breeding attempt, 9.48 d earlier than when producing the second brood with the same partner. We conclude that male and female barn owls adopt different reproductive strategies. Females have more opportunities to reproduce twice in a single season than males because mothers are not strictly required during the entire rearing period in contrast to fathers. A high proportion of male floaters may also encourage females to desert their first brood to re‐nest with a new male who is free of parental care duties.  相似文献   

12.
The evolutionary radiation of syngnathids has been accompanied by a diversification of structures involved in parental care, from a hypothetical ancestral presenting a simple brooding structure. The architectural simplicity of Nerophis male brooding structures led to the hypothesis that the relationship between father and developing embryos was feeble, unlike that observed in syngnathids with brood pouches. Here, we show that males loose considerable weight during pregnancy, especially so when egg weight is low. These results highlight the possibility of a compensatory mechanism and help justify why males in the wild tend to select large and colourful females, which are more fecund and able to produce larger eggs. Together with available information on the mating system, we also discuss some of the interplaying reasons behind the observed sex role reversal and high sexual dimorphism in the worm pipefish.  相似文献   

13.
In the dusky pipefish Syngnathus floridae, like other species in the family Syngnathidae, ‘pregnant’ males provide all post-zygotic care. Male pregnancy has interesting implications for sexual selection theory and the evolution of mating systems. Here, we employ microsatellite markers to describe the genetic mating system of S. floridae, compare the outcome with a previous report of genetic polyandry for the Gulf pipefish S. scovelli, and consider possible associations between the mating system and degree of sexual dimorphism in these species. Twenty-two pregnant male dusky pipefish from one locale in the northern Gulf of Mexico were analyzed genetically, together with subsamples of 42 embryos from each male's brood pouch. Adult females also were assayed. The genotypes observed in these samples document that cuckoldry by males did not occur; males often receive eggs from multiple females during the course of a pregnancy (six males had one mate each, 13 had two mates, and three had three mates); embryos from different females are segregated spatially within a male's brood pouch; and a female's clutch of eggs often is divided among more than one male. Thus, the genetic mating system of the dusky pipefish is best described as polygynandrous. The genetic results for S. floridae and S. scovelli are consistent with a simple model of sexual selection which predicts that for sex role-reversed organisms, species with greater degrees of sexual dimorphism are more highly polyandrous.  相似文献   

14.
For animals that reproduce in water, many adaptations in life‐history traits such as egg size, parental care, and behaviors that relate to embryo oxygenation are still poorly understood. In pipefishes, seahorses and seadragons, males care for the embryos either in some sort of brood pouch, or attached ventrally to the skin on their belly or tail. Typically, egg size is larger in the brood pouch group and it has been suggested that oxygen supplied via the pouch buffers the developing embryos against hypoxia and as such is an adaptation that has facilitated the evolution of larger eggs. Here, using four pipefish species, we tested whether the presence or absence of brood pouch relates to how male behavior, embryo size, and survival are affected by hypoxia, with normoxia as control. Two of our studied species Entelurus aequoreus and Nerophis ophidion (both having small eggs) have simple ventral attachment of eggs onto the male trunk, and the other two, Syngnathus typhle (large eggs) and S. rostellatus (small eggs), have fully enclosed brood pouches on the tail. Under hypoxia, all species showed lower embryo survival, while species with brood pouches suffered greater embryo mortality compared to pouchless species, irrespective of oxygen treatment. Behaviorally, species without pouches spent more time closer to the surface, possibly to improve oxygenation. Overall, we found no significant benefits of brood pouches in terms of embryo survival and size under hypoxia. Instead, our results suggest negative effects of large egg size, despite the protection of brood pouches.  相似文献   

15.
The brood pouch of the male pipefish (Syngnathus schlegeli) is a ventral organ located on the tail, with the anterior region closely associated with the genital pore. The embryos in the pouch are attached to highly vascularized placenta-like tissue which seals the pouch folds from inside during incubation. The epithelium of the placenta-like tissue consists of mitochondria-rich cells (MRCs) and pavement cells. Differences in MRC morphology in the brood pouch epithelium, the gills and the larval epidermis of the pipefish were examined by light and electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the MRCs in the brood pouch and the gills shared common characteristics: the presence of numerous mitochondria packed among a well-developed tubular system and the close association of the basal parts with the capillaries running underneath the epithelia. The size of the apical opening of the elongate, flask-shaped brood pouch MRC was about one-tenth that of the apical pit of the gill MRC. The gill and larval epidermal MRCs formed a multicellular complex, in contrast to solitary brood pouch MRCs. The brood pouch MRCs were intensively stained by immunocytochemistry with an antiserum specific for Na+,K+-ATPase. The Na+ concentrations in the brood pouch were maintained near those in the serum rather than seawater during incubation. We conclude that the brood pouch MRCs function as an ion-transporting cell, absorbing ions from the brood pouch lumen, perhaps to protect the embryos from the hyperosmotic environment.  相似文献   

16.
Sarotherodon macrochir matures at 17–18 cm standard length in Lake Mcllwaine and males grow larger than females. There is an extensive breeding season with the main breeding taking place during September-February, the hottest period of the year, which is just before the rainy season. Female S. macrochir produce about 1000 to 5000 eggs in their ovaries and can brood up to 800 eggs in their mouths. Mean brooding efficiency is about 75 % but this declines as the fish increase in size.  相似文献   

17.
Syngnathid fishes (pipefishes, seahorses and seadragons) are characterized by a unique mode of paternal care in which embryos develop on or in the male’s body, often within a structure known as a brood pouch. Evidence suggests that this pouch plays a role in mediating postcopulatory sexual selection and that males have some control over the events occurring within the pouch during the pregnancy. These observations lead to the prediction that males should invest differently in broods depending on the availability of food. Here, we use the Gulf pipefish to test this prediction by monitoring growth rate and offspring survivorship during the pregnancies of males under low- or high-food conditions. Our results show that pregnant males grow less rapidly on average than non-pregnant males, and pregnant males under low-food conditions grow less than pregnant males under high-food conditions. Offspring survivorship, on the other hand, does not differ between food treatments, suggesting that male Gulf pipefish sacrifice investment in somatic growth, and thus indirectly sacrifice future reproduction, in favor of current reproduction. However, a positive relationship between number of failed eggs and male growth rate in our low-food treatments suggests that undeveloped eggs reduce the pregnancy’s overall cost to the male compared to broods containing only viable offspring.  相似文献   

18.
19.
Fecundity selection, acting on traits enhancing reproductive output, is an important determinant of organismal body size. Due to a unique mode of reproduction, mating success and fecundity are positively correlated with body size in both sexes of male-pregnant Syngnathus pipefish. As male pipefish brood eggs on their tail and egg production in females occurs in their ovaries (located in the trunk region), fecundity selection is expected to affect both sexes in this species, and is predicted to act differently on body proportions of males and females during their development. Based on this hypothesis, we investigated sexual size dimorphism in body size allometry and vertebral numbers across populations of the widespread European pipefish Syngnathus typhle. Despite the absence of sex-specific differences in overall and region-specific vertebral counts, male and female pipefish differ significantly in the relative lengths of their trunk and tail regions, consistent with region-specific selection pressures in the two sexes. Male pipefish show significant growth allometry, with disproportionate growth in the brooding tail region relative to the trunk, resulting in increasingly skewed region-specific sexual size dimorphism with increasing body size, a pattern consistent across five study populations. Sex-specific differences in patterns of growth in S. typhle support the hypothesis that fecundity selection can contribute to the evolution of sexual size dimorphism.  相似文献   

20.
In two experiments, radioactively labelled nutrients (either (3)H-labelled amino-acid mixture or (14)C-labelled glucose) were tube-fed to brooding male Syngnathus typhle. Both nutrients were taken up by the males and radioactivity generally increased in the brood pouch tissue with time. Furthermore, a low but significant increase of (3)H-labelled amino acids in embryos was found over the experimental interval (48 h), whereas in the (14)C-glucose experiment the radioactivity was taken up by the embryos but did not increase over the experimental time (320 min). Uptake of radioisotopes per embryo did not differ with embryo size. A higher uptake mg(-1) tissue of both (3)H-labelled amino acids and (14)C-labelled glucose was found in smaller embryos, possibly due to a higher relative metabolic rate or to a higher surface-area-to-volume ratio compared to larger embryos. Uptake in embryos was not influenced by male size, embryonic developmental advancement or position in the brood pouch. It is concluded that brooding males provide amino acids, and probably also glucose, to the developing embryos in the brood pouch.  相似文献   

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