1Present address: Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Classic predictions about sex change do not hold under all types of size advantage
Article first published online: 28 SEP 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02108.x
© 2010 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2010 European Society For Evolutionary Biology
Additional Information
How to Cite
KAZANCIOĞLU, E. and ALONZO, S. H. (2010), Classic predictions about sex change do not hold under all types of size advantage. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 23: 2432–2441. doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02108.x
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1Present address: Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 21 OCT 2010
- Article first published online: 28 SEP 2010
- Received 6 October 2009; revised 25 July 2010; accepted 2 August 2010
Keywords:
- evolutionarily stable strategy;
- game theory;
- life history evolution;
- models;
- reproductive strategies;
- sequential hermaphroditism;
- sex allocation
Abstract
Theory predicts that the ‘size advantage’ (rate of increase in male and female fitness with age or size) determines the direction and the timing of sex change in sequential hermaphrodites. Whereas the size advantage is generated by the mating system and would be expected to vary within and between species, the shape or form of the size advantage has rarely been estimated directly. Here, we ask whether theoretical predictions about the timing of sex change hold under different types of size advantage. We model two biological scenarios representing different processes generating the size advantage and find that different types of size advantage can produce patterns that qualitatively differ from classic predictions. Our results demonstrate that a good understanding of sequentially hermaphroditic mating systems, and specifically, a direct assessment of the processes underlying the size advantage is crucial to reliably predict and explain within-species patterns of the timing of sex change.