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Seasonal changes in reproductive and physical condition, sexual dimorphism, and male mating tactics in the jewelled blenny Salarias fasciatus

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Abstract

To investigate seasonal changes in reproductive and physical condition, sexual dimorphism, and mating tactics in the jewelled blenny Salarias fasciatus, monthly collections were conducted on the fringing reef in northern Okinawa, Japan. Monthly variation in the female gonadosomatic index suggested that the breeding season of this species is from April to June. The physical condition and hepatosomatic index of both sexes considerably deteriorated during the course of the breeding season. Such declines may be primarily due to egg production in females and brood care in males. Males’ elongated anal spines were longer than females’, but no other apparent sexual dimorphisms were detected, indicating that S. fasciatus exhibits a low degree of sexual dimorphism. Examinations of testes size and the testicular gland area during the estimated breeding season revealed that the gonadosomatic index values of smaller males did not differ from those of larger males. This result may differ from other blenny species that exhibit alternative male reproductive tactics. However, patterns of male testicular glands of S. fasciatus were similar to those of other blennies with alternative tactics, i.e., smaller males had poorly developed testicular glands compared with larger males.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Akira Nishikawa and Naoko Morimoto for helping with fish collections in the field, Masaru Nakamura for help in the laboratory, and Katsunori Tachihara and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. The research was supported by the 21st Century COE program of the University of the Ryukyus and was supported in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (to S.A.). This study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of the Ryukyus. This is a contribution from the Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.

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  1. Satoshi Awata

    Present address: Freshwater Fisheries Research Division, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency, 1088 Komaki, Ueda, 386-0031, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa, 905-0227, Japan

    Satoshi Awata, Saori Miura, Satoko Seki, Teppei Sagawa & Kazuhiko Sakai

  2. Division of Biosphere Science, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Noriyosi Sato

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  1. Satoshi Awata
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Correspondence to Satoshi Awata.

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Awata, S., Miura, S., Seki, S. et al. Seasonal changes in reproductive and physical condition, sexual dimorphism, and male mating tactics in the jewelled blenny Salarias fasciatus . Ichthyol Res 57, 161–168 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-009-0142-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-009-0142-x

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