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Stress promotes maleness in hermaphroditic modular animals.

R N Hughes1, P H Manríquez, J D D Bishop

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom. r.n.hughes@bangor.ac.uk

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 22, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Environmental stress shifts reproduction towards male function in the marine bryozoan Celleporella hyalina. This stress-induced maleness, observed in modular animals, mirrors patterns seen in hermaphroditic plants, suggesting a general evolutionary response.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Marine Biology
  • Reproductive Ecology

Background:

  • Sex-allocation theory, primarily developed for hermaphroditic plants, predicts increased male function under environmental stress.
  • This theory suggests that impaired parental prospects lead to greater resource allocation towards male reproductive efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether stress-induced maleness occurs in modular animals, extending beyond plants.
  • To provide experimental evidence for sex-allocation theory in a marine invertebrate model.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized cloned replicates of the marine bryozoan Celleporella hyalina to control for genetic variation.
  • Exposed bryozoans to diverse environmental stressors to observe reproductive allocation changes.
  • Conducted mating trials to confirm paternity determination via sperm competition.

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Main Results:

  • Celleporella hyalina exhibited a significant increase in the ratio of male to female modules under various environmental stressors.
  • Sperm competition was confirmed as the primary mechanism for paternity determination, favoring increased male allocation.
  • The findings demonstrate a parallel between plant and animal responses to environmental stress regarding reproductive strategies.

Conclusions:

  • Stress-induced bias toward male function is a general response in hermaphroditic modular organisms, not limited to plants.
  • Environmental stress impacts reproductive allocation in a manner consistent with sex-allocation theory across different taxa.
  • This study highlights the conserved nature of evolutionary responses to environmental challenges in sexual reproduction.