Synonyms
Definition
Sex switching is the process by which an organism changes sexual characteristics, including gonads and gamete production, from one sex to another.
Introduction
Sex switching occurs when an organism changes from one sex to another. This switch is accompanied by a shift in gamete production and reproductive strategy corresponding to the new sex. Sex switching often occurs due to environmental pressures that inhibit the reproductive prospects of one sex over another, such as when one sex is overabundant within a group or when mates of the opposite sex are otherwise difficult to find. Although sex switching is relatively common in plants, it is almost exclusively restricted to fish and invertebrates in the animal kingdom. There are three types of sex switching: protandry, protogyny, and bidirectional.
Evolution of Sex Switching
The evolution of sex switching is often understood via sex allocation theory,...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Adreani, M. S., & Allen, L. G. (2008). Mating system and reproductive biology of a temperate wrasse, Halichoeres semicinctus. Copeia, 2, 467–475.
Allsop, D. J., & West, S. A. (2003). Changing sex at the same relative body size. Nature, 425, 783–784.
Allsop, D. J., & West, S. A. (2004). Sex-ratio evolution in sex changing animals. Evolution, 58, 1019–1027.
Avise, J. C., & Mank, J. E. (2008). Evolutionary perspectives on hermaphroditism in fishes. Sexual Development, 3, 152–163.
Black, M. P., & Grober, M. S. (2003). Group sex, sex change, and parasitic males: Sexual strategies among fishes and their neurobiological correlates. Annual Review of Sex Research, 14, 160–184.
Buston, P. M. (2004). Territory inheritance in clownfish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 271, S252–S254.
Charnov, E. L. (1982). The theory of sex allocation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Fricke, H. W., & Fricke, S. (1977). Monogamy and sex change by aggressive dominance in coral reef fish. Nature, 266, 830–832.
Ghiselin, M. T. (1969). The evolution of hermaphroditism among animals. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 44, 189–208.
Jarne, P., & Auld, J. R. (2006). Animals mix it up too: The distribution of self-fertilization among hermaphroditic animals. Evolution, 60, 1816–1824.
Rogers, E. W., Earley, R. L., & Grober, M. S. (2007). Social status determines sexual phenotype in the bi-directional sex-changing bluebanded goby Lythrypnus dalli. Journal of Fish Biology, 70, 1660–1668.
Warner, R. R. (1975). The adaptive significance of sequential hermaphroditism in animals. The American Naturalist, 109, 61–82.
Yamaguchi, S., & Iwasa, Y. (2017). Advantage for the sex changer who retains the gonad of the nonfunctional sex. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 71, 1–12.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Holub, A.M. (2018). Sex Switching. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2058-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2058-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences