Navigation Links
Why don't more animals change their sex?
Date:2/3/2009

New Haven, Conn. Most animals, like humans, have separate sexes they are born, live out their lives and reproduce as one sex or the other. However, some animals live as one sex in part of their lifetime and then switch to the other sex, a phenomenon called sequential hermaphroditism. What remains a puzzle, according to Yale scientists, is why the phenomenon is so rare, since their analysis shows the biological "costs" of changing sexes rarely outweigh the advantages.

A report by Yale scientists in the March issue of The American Naturalist says that while this process is evolutionarily favored, its rarity cannot be explained by an analysis of the biological costs vs benefits.

Sequential hermaphroditism naturally occurs in various organisms from plants to fishes. Following four decades of research that established why sex change is advantageous, the question remained why it is rare among animals. In this study, Yale graduate student Erem Kazancıoğlu and his advisor Suzanne Alonzo, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, demonstrate that sex change is surprisingly robust against costs.

While the adaptive advantage of sex change is well understood, it is not clear why relatively few animals change sex. According to Alonzo, "An intuitive, yet rarely studied, explanation is that the considerable time or energy it takes to change sex make hermaphroditism unfeasible for most animals."

To test whether the biological costs of changing sex affect sex change actually occurs, the researchers built theoretical models of the hermaphrodite and separate-sex life histories. In their "game" models, sex change "players" vary the age of their sex change, while the separate-sex strategy responds by altering the number of male and female offspring it produces.

"We were su
'/>"/>

Contact: Janet Rettig Emanuel
janet.emanuel@yale.edu
203-432-2157
Yale University
Source:Eurekalert  

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Report: African, Asian, Latin American farm animals face extinction
2. UT researcher sheds new light on hybrid animals
3. Penn Veterinary Medicine report new strategy to create genetically-modified animals
4. UT researcher sheds new light on hybrid animals
5. Fungus genome yielding answers to protect grains, people and animals
6. From GM farm animals to embryonic stem cell research
7. Colorful view for first land animals
8. Gene guards grain-producing grasses so people and animals can eat
9. Texas A&M testing oral contraceptives for animals
10. Mantis shrimp vision reveals new way that animals can see
11. Common aquatic animals show extreme resistance to radiation

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Why don't more animals change their sex?
Why don't more animals change their sex?
(Date:11/24/2009)...s from collapsing have been true life-savers. But ...d -- once the arteries are strengthened, they beco...but to leave them in place. , Prof. Meital Zilbe...ical Engineering has developed a new patent-pendin...needed, then dissolves. , "Our new composite fib...
(Date:11/24/2009)... -- The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announ...ng population of Siberian tigers has likely declin...g and habitat loss. , WCS says the r...eeds to be done to protect remaining populations o...port was released by the Siberian Tiger Monitoring...
(Date:11/24/2009)...arch on bacterial communities throughout six large...ral patterns, suggesting that scientists could use...te change in the polar regions. The study, publish...cademy of Sciences Early Edition, shows that bact...onously over time, correlating with seasonal shift...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):A coating for life 2Report shows dramatic decline in Siberian tigers 2Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers 2Climate change poker 3A The barriers which are preventing a global agreement 9478 1Climate change poker 3A The barriers which are preventing a global agreement 9478 2delSECUR CORPORATION Announces Agreement to Purchase the Intellectual Property Assets of the Corporation 9476 1delSECUR CORPORATION Announces Agreement to Purchase the Intellectual Property Assets of the Corporation 9476 2UBC researchers find first ever wanderlust gene in tiny bony fish 9474 1
...is release is available in Spanish . , A PhD ...V/EHU) has studied the origin of the mutation that...nomous Community of the Basque Country there is a ...the cases registered in the whole of Spain. , Fa... considered as rare there are less than 100 cases...
...MIER INTERNATIONAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS BREAKTHROUGH...IC DIFFERENCES,CAREFREE, AZ,FEBRUARY 3-6, 2009 , ...in treatment and outcomes among cancer patients ar...lying causes and what can be done to solve a seemi... for Cancer Research is hosting a collaboration of...
...bridge, Md. An international group of scientists ...al seas to an increase in the number of harmful al...algal blooms (HAB,s) occur, they taint seafood wit...ions and cause fish or mammal kills in coastal wat...armful Algae , scientists present a compilation of...
Other Biology News:Study on origin of mutation that causes fatal familiar insomnia 2Study on origin of mutation that causes fatal familiar insomnia 3American Association for Cancer Research hosts Science of Health Care Disparities Meeting 2
(Date:11/25/2009)... Ambassador to Speak at Econo...nto, Canada (Vocus) November 25, 2009 -- Ambassado...o: ,David Appia, French Ambassador for Internation...in France Agency ,To view a biography of David App...bassador Appia is available to meet with press to ...
(Date:11/25/2009)... , SAN DIEGO, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/...nced today that Barry D. Quart, Pharm.D., presiden... Piper Jaffray 21st Annual Health Care Conference....affray 21st Annual Health Care Conference,Date: ...Eastern Time,Location: The New York Palace Hotel,...
(Date:11/24/2009)... , SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Nov. 24 /PRNewswir...d Bio Career Center, the nation,s leading online j...ionals. ,, Northwestern and Columbia University...r major life science training Institutions. ,, ...for post-graduates in the life sciences. While the...
(Date:11/24/2009)... , REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Novem...Inc. (Nasdaq: DCGN ) today announced the approval ...ruptcy Court for the District of Delaware,(the "Ba...ry petition for,relief under Chapter 11 of the Uni...rt. , The orders issued by the Bankruptcy...
Breaking Biology Technology:French Ambassador for International Investment to Visit Toronto December 11 2Ardea Biosciences to Present at the Piper Jaffray 21st Annual Health Care Conference 2Two Major Universities Join Nation's Leading Postgrad Bio Job Board 2deCODE genetics, Inc. Announces Approval of First Day Motions by Bankruptcy Court 2deCODE genetics, Inc. Announces Approval of First Day Motions by Bankruptcy Court 3
...Deliver Record 20 Million Signatures Collected on ...,Drive-Through, Mastectomies, - Bipartisan Breast... to, Recuperate for at Least 48 Hours in the Hosp... Cancer Surgery -, NEW YORK, Jan. 18 "Desper...me, Senator Landrieu (D-LA) and,Representatives De...
...MORE, Jan. 18 Alba Therapeutics Corporation today...e President, Marketing and,Alliance Management. In...ding Alba,s marketing development strategy and pro...cialization. Ms. Perrow will also serve as a,membe... "We are very pleased to announce that Ms. Perrow...
...OUIS, Jan. 18 Sigma-Aldrich Corporation,(Nasdaq: ...o discuss fourth,quarter results on Wednesday, Feb.... Central Time)., This call is being webcast by T... Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com ., The...mson StreetEvents,Network to both institutional an...
Other Biology Technology:Emmy(R)- and Golden Globe(R)-Nominated Actress Marcia Cross to Join Lifetime Networks and Members of Congress From Both Parties at Capitol Hill Press Conference 2Emmy(R)- and Golden Globe(R)-Nominated Actress Marcia Cross to Join Lifetime Networks and Members of Congress From Both Parties at Capitol Hill Press Conference 3Alba Therapeutics Appoints Wendy Perrow as its Vice President, Marketing and Alliance Management 2Sigma-Aldrich Corporation's 4th Quarter 2007 Earnings Conference Call 2
... for cell culture scale-up, these culture chambers... are useful alternatives to multiple roller bottle... strength and structural integrity • 100% lea...ogenic and sterilized by gamma irradiation, with l...
Rabbit Anti-Mouse Ym1 Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from StemCell Technologies, Inc.
Fetal Calf Serum from Quad Five
Corning 3L Fernbach Culture Flask, Baffled Bottom, Pc, Sterile from Sigma-Aldrich
Biology Products: