The Sexual and Mating System of the Shrimp Odontonia katoi (Palaemonidae, Pontoniinae), a Symbiotic Guest of the Ascidian Polycarpa aurata in the Coral Triangle

dc.contributor.authorBaeza, J. Antonio
dc.contributor.authorHemphill, Carrie A.
dc.contributor.authorRitson-Williams, Raphael
dc.date.accessioned2015-04-20T15:15:21Z
dc.date.available2015-04-20T15:15:21Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractTheory predicts that monogamy is adaptive in symbiotic crustaceans inhabiting relatively small and morphologically simple hosts in tropical environments where predation risk away from hosts is high. We tested this prediction in the shrimp Odontonia katoi, which inhabits the atrial chamber of the ascidian Polycarpa aurata in the Coral Triangle. Preliminary observations in O. katoi indicated that males were smaller than females, which is suggestive of sex change (protandry) in some symbiotic organisms. Thus, we first investigated the sexual system of O. katoi to determine if this shrimp was sequentially hermaphroditic. Morphological identification and size frequency distributions indicated that the population comprised males that, on average, were smaller than females. Gonad dissections demonstrated the absence of transitional individuals. Thus, O. katoi is a gonochoric species with reverse sexual dimorphism. The population distribution of O. katoi in its ascidian host did not differ significantly from a random distribution and shrimps inhabiting the same host individual as pairs were found with a frequency similar to that expected by chance alone. This is in contrast to that reported for other socially monogamous crustaceans in which pairs of heterosexual conspecifics are found in host individuals more frequently than expected by chance alone. Thus, the available information argues against monogamy in O. katoi. Furthermore, that a high frequency of solitary females were found brooding embryos and that the sex ratio was skewed toward females suggests that males might be roaming among hosts in search of receptive females in O. katoi. Symbiotic crustaceans can be used as a model system to understand the adaptive value of sexual and mating systems in marine invertebrates.
dc.identifier1932-6203
dc.identifier.citationBaeza, J. Antonio, Hemphill, Carrie A., and Ritson-Williams, Raphael. 2015. "<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25799577">The Sexual and Mating System of the Shrimp Odontonia katoi (Palaemonidae, Pontoniinae), a Symbiotic Guest of the Ascidian Polycarpa aurata in the Coral Triangle</a>." <em>PloS One</em>, 10, (3). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121120">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121120</a>.
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10088/25207
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.relation.ispartofPloS One 10 (3)
dc.titleThe Sexual and Mating System of the Shrimp Odontonia katoi (Palaemonidae, Pontoniinae), a Symbiotic Guest of the Ascidian Polycarpa aurata in the Coral Triangle
dc.typearticle
sro.description.unitNH-SMS
sro.description.unitNMNH
sro.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0121120
sro.identifier.itemID135542
sro.identifier.refworksID4281
sro.identifier.urlhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25799577
sro.publicationPlaceSan Francisco

Files

Collections