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Potential latitudinal variation in egg size and number of a geographically widespread reef fish, revealed by common-environment experiments

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Abstract

Variation in maternal reproductive traits was examined in field and reared populations of a geographically widespread reef fish, Pomacentrus coelestis (Pomacentridae), drawn from three different latitudes in Japan. Size-specific clutch size and clutch weight of wild fish increased with increasing latitude. Conversely, latitudinal variation in egg size of wild fish was obscure in same-season comparisons, probably because of the temperature effect on egg size. Common-environment experiments conducted at three temperatures showed that egg size decreased with increasing temperature in all populations. In the experiments, egg size, clutch size and clutch weight differed among populations at all temperatures, showing clear latitudinal clines. Females from low latitude spawned larger eggs at every experimental temperature. Size-specific clutch size and weight were greater in females from high latitude. Thus, the northern fish had a larger reproductive output per spawning and a larger number of smaller eggs in a spawning. Such interpopualtion variation in this fish is likely to be partially genetically based, although environmental effects on the variation cannot be entirely ruled out. This study provides evidence of potential latitudinal variation in the egg size and number in a coastal fish, by common-environment experiments. The close correspondence between latitudes and these maternal reproductive traits may be a consequence of local adaptation.

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Acknowledgements

I thank for D. O. Conover, T. J. Donaldson and three anonymous referees for their helpful suggestions on the manuscript, and A. Nakazono, Y. Tanaka, K. Yamahira and T. Yoshimatsu for providing much useful information during this study. I also appreciate the help given by the staff of the Fisheries Research Station, Kyushu University, for the common-environment experiments, by the staff of Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, and the staff of the Marine Biosystems Research Center, Chiba University, for providing facilities for the field work. This study was supported financially by Research Fellowships from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists, and the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 12000307) from the Japan Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan. This study complied with the current laws of Japan.

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  1. T. Kokita

    Present address: Akajima Marine Science Laboratory, Aka, Zamami, Okinawa 901-3311, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal and Marine Bioresource Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812–8581, Japan

    T. Kokita

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Correspondence to T. Kokita.

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Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate

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Kokita, T. Potential latitudinal variation in egg size and number of a geographically widespread reef fish, revealed by common-environment experiments. Marine Biology 143, 593–601 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1104-x

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