US-Belgium Cooperative Research: Protandrous Fishes as Tests of Sex Allocation Theory

美国-比利时合作研究：早熟鱼类作为性别分配理论的检验

• 批准号: 9021096
• 负责人: Robert Warner
• 金额: $ 0.75万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1991
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1991-04-15 至 1992-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9021096&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: US; Belgium; Cooperative; Research; Protandrous

This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Robert Warner, Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara and Dr. Francois Wernerus, Staresco Marine Laboratory, Calvia, Corsica. The objective of the project is to study protandrous fishes (those which change sex from male to female) to test theories of sex allocation. Evolutionary ecologists have long been interested in the phenomenon of sex change in fishes. Within this group the patterns of sexuality show extreme variety, and this variety has often been used to explore the adaptive significance of sex allocation. Sex allocation theory deals with the evolutionary dynamics of sexual expression: sex ratio, hermaphroditism and related topics. Ever since this theory began to develop in the mid-seventies, it has been pointed out that there is a critical need to document the mating systems of species that are protandrous. Theory predicts that these species should have mating systems in which mating occurs in random pairs or small groups, such that there is a size advantage in reproduction accrued by small males relative to small females. The investigators propose to test these predictions by assessing size-specific mating success and mating group size in four sparid fishes common in the Mediterranean. Two of these species are protandrous, one changes sex in the opposite direction, and one does not change sex. Comparisons between these species will offer a powerful test of theory. The research will be carried out at the Staresco Marine Laboratory in Corsica, which is a major center for research in marine behavioral ecology. The research will benefit from the theoretical expertise of Dr. Warner and the experimental experience of Dr. Wernerus.

该奖项将支持加利福尼亚大学圣塔芭芭拉分校的罗伯特·华纳（Robert Warner）博士和科西嘉（Calvia）的斯塔斯科海洋实验室的弗朗索瓦·沃纳鲁斯（Francois Wernerus）博士之间的合作研究。该项目的目的是研究质子鱼类（从男性变为女性的鱼类）来测试性别分配的理论。 长期以来，进化生态学家一直对鱼类性别变化的现象感兴趣。 在这一组中，性的模式显示出极端的多样性，这种品种通常被用来探索性别分配的适应性意义。性别分配理论涉及性表达的进化动力：性别比，雌雄同体和相关主题。 自从七十年代中期开始这一理论开始发展以来，人们指出，迫切需要记录质子物种的交配系统。 理论预测，这些物种应具有随机对或小组的交配系统，以便相对于小雌性，小男性产生的繁殖尺寸优势。 研究人员建议通过评估在地中海常见的四种较高的鱼类中评估特定于大小的交配成功和交配组大小来测试这些预测。 这些物种中的两个是质子的，一种是沿相反方向改变性别的，一个不改变性别。 这些物种之间的比较将提供强大的理论检验。 这项研究将在科西嘉岛的STARESCO海洋实验室进行，该实验室是海洋行为生态学研究中心的主要中心。 这项研究将受益于华纳博士的理论专业知识和Wernerus博士的实验经验。