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Histology of the gonads and observations on the social behavior of the Caribbean angelfish Holacanthus tricolor

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Abstract

Male and female specimens of Holacanthus tricolor were collected in May 1981 and September 1982 off the Island of St. Croix. U.S. Virgin Islands, and their gonads were examined histologically. All testes examined showed vasa deferentia which were characteristic of secondary males, suggesting protogynous sex change. A transitional individual supported this interpretation. Ovarian histology and size-specific egg counts revealed seasonal differences in spawning frequency and clutch size. Females appeared to spawn every day in May. The timing of final maturation and hydration of the oocytes indicated that spawning occurred in the late afternoon or early evening. Not all females spawned every day in September, and clutch sizes were smaller than those of May. Behavioral observations of H. tricolor in the field revealed that males defended harems of two to four smaller females. Within each harem, females of different sizes had overlapping home ranges, while the home ranges of females of similar size did not overlap. Besides size dimorphism between the sexes, H. tricolor exhibited a previously unreported sexual dichromatism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 96822, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    T. F. Hourigan & C. D. Kelley

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  1. T. F. Hourigan
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  2. C. D. Kelley
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Communicated by J. M. Shick, Orono

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Hourigan, T.F., Kelley, C.D. Histology of the gonads and observations on the social behavior of the Caribbean angelfish Holacanthus tricolor . Marine Biology 88, 311–322 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392592

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