Allometric growth and sperm competition in fishes

Authors: Stoltz, J. A.¹; Neff, B. D.; Olden, J. D.²

Source: Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 67, Number 2, August 2005 , pp. 470-480(11)

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Abstract:

The allometric relationship between body mass and gonad mass in males of 23 fish species from 11 families was examined. There was no evidence of a single allometry for all fishes. A cross species analysis suggested a scaling coefficient of 1·04, which was significantly different from a previous study that reported a scaling coefficient of 0·904. A within species analysis generated scaling coefficients from 0·68 to 3·90. Furthermore, for those species characterized by alternative mating tactics, there was no correlation between the scaling coefficients of bourgeois-type males and parasitic-type males. These results are discussed in the context of the gonado-somatic index and its use in testing sperm competition theory.

Keywords: allometry; gonad; sperm competition; testes

Document Type: Regular paper

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00756.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada and 2: Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, 680 N. Park Street, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, U.S.A.

Publication date: 2005-08-01