How to translate text using browser tools
31 December 2024 Sex-specific differences in gonopore and gonadal growth trajectories in the brooding sea urchin, Abatus cavernosus (Spatangoida)
Damián G. Gil, Héctor E. Zaixso, Javier A. Tolosano
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The heart urchin Abatus cavernosus shows sexual dimorphism characterized by the development of external brood pouches and the enlargement of gonopores in brooding females. Relationships between body size, gonopore size, and gonadal maturation in each sex were examined for inflection points using piecewise regression models (PRM). Opening of the gonopore occurred at 15.5 mm test length. Inflection points in the gonadal growth and gonopore diameter trajectories were clustered at smaller sizes in males (23 and 24.2 mm, respectively) than in females (25.1 and 25.9 mm), indicating sex-specific differences in sexual maturation. Gonopore growth showed positive allometry at pre-adult stages of development in both sexes, but isometry and negative allometry in adult females and males, respectively. Gonadal growth was initiated at smaller sizes and proceeded at a higher rate with increasing body size in males than in females. Identification of inflection points in gonopore and gonadal growth trajectories, using objective PRM, allows the determination of life stages and sexual maturation for individuals, thus providing a complementary tool for population studies.

Damián G. Gil, Héctor E. Zaixso, and Javier A. Tolosano "Sex-specific differences in gonopore and gonadal growth trajectories in the brooding sea urchin, Abatus cavernosus (Spatangoida)," Invertebrate Biology 139(1), (31 December 2024). https://doi.org/10.1111/ivb.12278
Received: 21 November 2019; Accepted: 22 November 2019; Published: 31 December 2024
KEYWORDS
Allocation
dimorphism
Echinodermata
Parental care
reproduction
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top