caa a22 4500 477116361 CHVBK 20180405111623.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170330e19960201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00005232 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00005232 St. Mary Colette Department of Biological Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara, 93160, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut Sex allocation in a simultaneous hermaphrodite, the zebra goby Lythrypnus zebra [Elektronische Daten] insights gained through a comparison with its sympatric congener, Lythrypnus dalli [Colette St. Mary] Synopsis: The sexual pattern of the zebra goby Lythrypnus zebra, is an apparent exception to sex allocation theory. Most L. zebra are simultaneous hermaphrodites (i.e., have active female and male gonadal tissue), yet it appears they do not reproduce as males and females simultaneously. Understanding the maintenance of simultaneous hermaphroditism in L. zebra could expand sex allocation theory. In this study, I used a comparison with the blue-banded goby, Lythrypnus dalli, a sympatric congener with a qualitatively similar sexual pattern, to investigate the role of male spawning rate, body size and sexual flexibility in determining the sexual pattern of L. zebra and to isolate differences between the species that might explain their differing sexual patterns. Using field measurements of male nesting success, I found no differences between the species in the body size of nesting males suggesting that large size is associated with successful male reproduction in both species. In addition, nesting males spawned at approximately three times the rate of females in both species; thus, reproduction via male function can be equally advantageous relative to adopting the female role. However, the nest longevity of L. zebra males was shorter than that of L. dalli males, suggesting reproduction via male function may be less reliable in L. zebra. Finally, under laboratory conditions, L. zebra females tended to prefer large mates, and L. zebra were able to re-allocate in both directions, exhibiting a greater capacity to switch than L. dalli. Given these results, I suggest that switching between the sexes plays a greater role in maintaining simultaneous hermaphroditism in L. zebra than L. dalli, perhaps because male reproduction is not as consistent in L. zebra. Sexual flexibility may be an important factor affecting patterns of sex allocation, generally. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996 Sexual flexibility nationallicence Sequential hermaphroditism nationallicence Gobiidae nationallicence Reproductive rates nationallicence Environmental Biology of Fishes Kluwer Academic Publishers 45/2(1996-02-01), 177-190 0378-1909 45:2<177 1996 45 10641 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005232 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005232 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- St. Mary Colette Department of Biological Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara, 93160, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Environmental Biology of Fishes Kluwer Academic Publishers 45/2(1996-02-01), 177-190 0378-1909 45:2<177 1996 45 10641 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer