Abstract
Sex-ratios of the limpetPatella kermadecensis Pilsbry, collected at three times of the year during 1984 and 1985 at Raoul Island in the Kermadecs group, varied with the size of the limpets. Small limpets were predominantly male, while amongst larger ones about half were female. The presence of hermaphroditism inP. kermadecensis was confirmed by microscopic examination of gonad material from over 50 limpets, which revealed a high percentage of individuals with both male and female gametes in their gonads. It is postulated that protandric sex change occurs in this large limpet, and that this phenomenon is related to a change in habitat from the backs of large shells (limpets less than approximately 50 mm) to bedrock (larger limpets). The pattern of sex change inP. kermadecensis is compared with that in other species of limpet, and it is suggested that a reproductive system consisting of gonochoristic males and sequential hermaphrodites may be particularly advantageous for a large, slow-growing species that has a very restricted geographical range.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Bacci, G. (1947). L'inversione del sesso ed il ciclo stagionale della gonade inPatella coerulea L. Pubbl. Staz. zool. Napoli 21: 183–217
Branch, G. M. (1974). The ecology ofPatella Linnaeus from the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. 2. Reproductive cycles. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 41: 111–160
Branch, G. M. (1975). Mechanisms reducing intraspecific competition inPatella spp.: migration, differentiation and territorial behaviour. J. Anim. Ecol. 44: 575–600
Branch, G. M. (1976). Interspecific competition experienced by South AfricanPatella species. J. Anim. Ecol. 45: 507–530
Branch, G. M. (1981). The biology of limpets: physical factors, energy flow and ecological interactions. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. A. Rev. 19: 235–380
Coe, W. R. (1953). Influences of association, isolation and nutrition on the sexuality of snails of the genusCrepidula. J. exp. Zool. 122: 5–19
Creese, R. G. (1980). The reproductive cycles and fecundities of four common eastern Australian archaeogastropod limpets (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 31: 49–60
Dodd, J. M. (1956). Studies on the biology of limpets. III. Hermaphroditism in the three British species ofPatella. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 35: 327–340
Fleming, C. A. (1973). Kermadec Island giant limpet occurring fossil in New Zealand, and relict distributions in the tropics. N.Z. Jl mar. Freshwat. Res. 7: 159–164
Ghiselin, M. T. (1974). The economy of nature and the evolution of sex. University of California Press, Berkeley
Hawkins, S. J., Hartnoll, R. G. (1983). Grazing of intertidal algae by marine invertebrates. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. A. Rev. 21: 195–282
Hoaglund, K. E. (1978). Protandry and the evolution of environmentally induced sex change: a study of the mollusca. Malacalogia 17: 365–391
Hughes, R. N. (1986). A functional biology of marine gastropods. Croom Helm, London
Knox, G. A. (1963). The biogeography and intertidal ecology of the Australian coasts. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. A. Rev. 1: 341–404
Lindberg, D. R., Wright, W. G. (1985). Patterns of sex change of the protandric patellacean limpetLottia gigantea (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Veliger 27: 261–265
Oliver, W. R. (1915). The mollusca of the Kermadec Islands. Trans. N.Z. Inst. 47: 509–568
Orton, J. H., Southward, A. J., Dodd, J. M. (1956). Studies on the biology of limpets. II. The breeding ofPatella vulgata L. in Britain. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 35: 149–176
Powell, A. W. B. (1973). The patellid limpets of the world. Indo-Pacif. Mollusca 3: 75–205
Schiel, D. R., Kingsford, M. J., Choat, J. H. (1986). Depth distribution and abundance of benthic organisms and fishes at the subtropical Kermadec Islands. N.Z. Jl mar. Freshwat. Res. 20: 521–535
Stimson, J. (1970). Territorial behaviour of the owl limpet,Lottia gigantea. Ecology 51: 113–118
Stimson, J. (1973). The role of the territory in the ecology of the intertidal limpetLottia gigantea (Gray). Ecology 54: 1020–1030
Thompson, G. B. (1979). Distribution and population dynamics of the limpetPatella aspera (Lamarck) in Bantry Bay. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 40: 115–135
Underwood, A. J. (1979). The ecology of intertidal gastropods. Adv. mar. Biol. 16: 111–210
Warner, R. E. (1988). Sex change in fishes: hypotheses, evidence, and objections. Envir. Biol Fish. 22: 81–90
Wright, W. G. (1989). Intraspecific density mediates sex-change in the territorial patellacean limpetLottia gigantea. Mar. Biol. 100: 353–364
Wright, W. G., Lindberg, D. R. (1979). A non-fatal method of sex determination for patellacean gastropods. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 59: p. 803
Wright, W. G., Lindberg, D. R. (1982). Direct observation of sex change in the patellacean limpetLottia gigantea. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 62: 737–738
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by G. F. Humprey, Sydney
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Creese, R.G., Schiel, D.R. & Kingsford, M.J. Sex change in a giant endemic limpet,Patella kermadecensis, from the Kermadec Islands. Mar. Biol. 104, 419–426 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314345
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314345