scholarly journals Deep-sea mystery solved: astonishing larval transformations and extreme sexual dimorphism unite three fish families

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. David Johnson ◽  
John R Paxton ◽  
Tracey T Sutton ◽  
Takashi P Satoh ◽  
Tetsuya Sado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Pelagic Larvae ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Morphological Transformations ◽  
Mitogenomic Sequence

The oceanic bathypelagic realm (1000–4000 m) is a nutrient-poor habitat. Most fishes living there have pelagic larvae using the rich waters of the upper 200 m. Morphological and behavioural specializations necessary to occupy such contrasting environments have resulted in remarkable developmental changes and life-history strategies. We resolve a long-standing biological and taxonomic conundrum by documenting the most extreme example of ontogenetic metamorphoses and sexual dimorphism in vertebrates. Based on morphology and mitogenomic sequence data, we show that fishes currently assigned to three families with greatly differing morphologies, Mirapinnidae (tapetails), Megalomycteridae (bignose fishes) and Cetomimidae (whalefishes), are larvae, males and females, respectively, of a single family Cetomimidae. Morphological transformations involve dramatic changes in the skeleton, most spectacularly in the head, and are correlated with distinctly different feeding mechanisms. Larvae have small, upturned mouths and gorge on copepods. Females have huge gapes with long, horizontal jaws and specialized gill arches allowing them to capture larger prey. Males cease feeding, lose their stomach and oesophagus, and apparently convert the energy from the bolus of copepods found in all transforming males to a massive liver that supports them throughout adult life.

scholarly journals Identification of genomic regions that exhibit sexual dimorphism for size and muscularity in cattle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Doyle ◽  
Deirdre C Purfield ◽  
Tom Moore ◽  
Tara R Carthy ◽  
Siobhan W Walsh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Whole Genome Sequence ◽  
Autosomal Snps ◽  
Linear Type ◽  
Association Analyses ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Genome Level ◽  
Genomic Regions

Abstract Sexual dimorphism, the phenomenon whereby males and females of the same species are distinctive in some aspect of appearance or size, has previously been documented in cattle for traits such as growth rate and carcass merit using a quantitative genetics approach. No previous study in cattle has attempted to document sexual dimorphism at a genome level; therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine if genomic regions associated with size and muscularity in cattle exhibited signs of sexual dimorphism. Analyses were undertaken on 10 linear type traits that describe the muscular and skeletal characteristics of both males and females of 5 beef cattle breeds; 1,444 Angus (AA), 6,433 Charolais (CH), 1,129 Hereford (HE), 8,745 Limousin (LM), and 1,698 Simmental (SI). Genome wide association analyses were undertaken using imputed whole-genome sequence data for each sex separately by breed. For each SNP that was segregating in both sexes, the difference between the allele substitution effect sizes for each sex, in each breed separately, was calculated. Suggestively (p ≤ 1 x 10 -5) sexually dimorphic SNPs that were segregating in both males and females were detected for all traits in all breeds, although the location of these SNPs differed by both trait and breed. Significantly (p ≤ 1 x 10 -8) dimorphic SNPs were detected in just three traits in the AA, seven traits in the CH and three traits in the LM. The vast majority of all segregating autosomal SNPs (86% in AA to 94% in LM) had the same minor allele in both males and females. Differences (p ≤ 0.05) in allele frequencies between the sexes were observed for between 36% (LM) and 66% (AA) of the total autosomal SNPs that were segregating in both sexes. Dimorphic SNPs were located within a number of genes related to muscularity and/or size including the NAB1, COL5A2, and IWS1 genes on BTA2 that are located close to, and thought to be co-inherited with, the MSTN gene. Overall, sexual dimorphism exists in cattle at the genome level, but it is not consistent by either trait or breed.

scholarly journals Consequences of combining life-history traits with sex-specific differences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandana Revathi Venkateswaran ◽  
Olivia Roth ◽  
Chaitanya S. Gokhale
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Fitness Components ◽  
Adult Sex Ratio ◽  
Males And Females

Males and females evolved distinct life-history strategies, reflected in diverse life-history traits, summarized as sexual dimorphism. Life-history traits are highly interlinked. The sex that allocates more resources towards offspring is expected to increase its life span, and this might require an efficient immune system. However, the other sex might allocate its resources towards ornamentation, and this might have immunosuppressive effects. Activity of immune response may not be specific to the sex that produces the eggs but could correlate with the amount of parental investment given. Informed by experimental data, we designed a theoretical framework that combines multiple life-history traits. We disentangled sex-biased life-history strategies from a particular sex to include species with reversed sex-roles, and male parental investment. We computed the lifetime reproductive success from the fitness components arising from diverse sex-biased life-history traits, and observed a strong bias in adult sex ratio depending on sex-specific resource allocation towards life-history traits. Overall, our work provides a generalized method to combine various life-history traits with sex-specific differences to calculate the lifetime reproductive success. This was used to explain certain empirical observations as a consequence of sexual dimorphism in life-history traits.

Description of the female of Ceromya glaucescens Tachi & Shima (Diptera: Tachinidae) and discovery of unusual sexual dimorphism in this species

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4237 (3) ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
TAKUJI TACHI
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Compound Eyes ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Wing Patterns ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Dimorphic Species

Sexual dimorphism is a phenomenon in which the male and female of a species differ in features of the external morphology such as size, shape, colour, or the development of appendages. In the Diptera, stalked compound eyes, leg modifications and wing patterns are well-known examples of sexual dimorphism (McAlpine 1979; Zeil 1983; Adler & Adler 1991; Meyerrochow & Reid 1994; Wilkinson & Dodson 1996; Sivinski 1997; Baker & Wilkinson 2001; Eberhard 2002; Puniamoorthy et al. 2008). Males and females of sexually dimorphic species are often described as separate species due to the dissimilarity in external characters, thus leading to problems in identification and proper association of the sexes. In contrast to characters that are usually involved in sexual dimorphism, leg chaetotaxy is considered one of the invariable character systems, irrespective of sex, in the tribe Siphonini of the Tachinidae, and is thus widely used in keys to genera and species (O’Hara 1989; Andersen 1996). Species’ identification by DNA barcoding has been used in various groups of organisms (Hebert et al. 2003; Ratnasingham & Hebert 2013). In insects, males, usually more easily identified by morphological characters (e.g., postabdominal features) than females, are often used for barcoding. The identification of females will improve as sequence data accumulate, such as data from pairs collected in copula. In this paper, I describe sexual dimorphism in the Japanese endemic species of tachinid fly Ceromya glaucescens Tachi & Shima, 2000 of the tribe Siphonini, and use molecular and morphological data for the identification of this species. Sequence data of C. silacea (Meigen, 1824) are also included for comparison. 

Observation on the breeding biology of Polypedates teraiensis (Dubois, 1987) (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
Jacinta Lalchhanhimi ◽  
Lalremsanga H.T.
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Breeding Biology ◽  
Tree Frog ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Morphometric Measurements ◽  
Advertisement Calls ◽  
Males And Females

The breeding biology of tree frog, Polypedates teraiensis was studied during the breeding season at Mizoram University Campus. It was found that sound production by male during the breeding season was primarily a reproductive function and advertisement calls attract females to the breeding areas and announce other males that a given territory is occupied. The aim of this study was to provide the detailed information on the breeding behaviour and the advertisement calls of Polypedates teraiensis. The morphometric measurements of the amplecting pairs (males and females) for sexual dimorphism along with clutch sizes were also studied.

Sexual Dimorphism among the Kathmandu University Students Assessed by Anthropometric Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (05) ◽  
pp. 20469-20472
Author(s):  
Shakya R ◽  
Bhattacharya SC ◽  
Shrestha R
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
University Students ◽  
Plastic Surgery ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Clinically Normal ◽  
Crime Detection ◽  
Males And Females

Objectives: To observe the sexual dimorphism among the young adult age group ranging from 18-21 years, of Kathmandu University students by measuring craniofacial circumference and canthal distances. Rationale of the study: These data could be useful for establishing the craniofacial standards and adds an implementation on plastic surgery, crime detection as well as in the industrial field. Method: 300 clinically normal students of Kathmandu University aged between 18-21 years were examined for the study. Fronto-occipital circumference, outer and inner canthal distances were measured. All the parameters were compared between males and females. Result: The cranial circumference as well as the inner and outer canthal distance in males was found to be significantly higher as compared to the females. Conclusion: The results concluded that sexual dimorphism remarkably exists in young adults of Kathmandu University students.

scholarly journals Sexual dimorphism in the long-term stability (10 years) of skeletal Class III treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Tejedor ◽  
Conchita Martín ◽  
José Antonio Alarcón ◽  
María Dolores Oteo-Calatayud ◽  
Juan Carlos Palma-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Class Iii Malocclusion ◽  
Skeletal Class ◽  
Term Stability ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Fixed Appliances ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Class Iii Treatment

Abstract Background Class III malocclusion is associated with high sexual dimorphism, especially in individuals older than 13 years of age, with significant differences in growth between males and females during the pubertal and postpubertal stages, and in adulthood. The aim of this research was to examine differences between males and females in long-term stability (10 years) of treatment for skeletal Class III malocclusion. Methods Thirty patients (15 males and 15 females) with skeletal Class III malocclusion, who had been treated with rapid maxillary expansion (RME) combined with face mask protraction followed by fixed appliances, were selected sequentially. Thirty patients (15 males and 15 females) with skeletal Class I and mesofacial patterns treated only with fixed appliances for dental problems served as the control group. Differences between groups and sexes were evaluated using lateral cephalograms taken at the start of treatment (T0), immediately after the end of treatment (T1), and after 10 years (T2). The long-term treatment success rate was calculated. Results Ten years after Class III treatment, overjet and overbite relapse occurred similarly in females (− 0.68 ± 0.7 mm; − 0.38 ± 0.75 mm, respectively) and males (− 1.09 ± 1.47 mm; − 0.64 ± 0.9 mm, respectively); the ANB angle and Wits appraisal became significantly more negative in males (− 1.37 ± 1.06°; − 2.7 ± 2.53 mm) than in females (− 0.18 ± 1.26°; − 0.46 ± 1.94 mm). The success rate was 73.3% in males and 80% in females. Conclusions Significant differences in the long-term stability of Class III treatment outcomes have been found between males and females, with a larger skeletal Class III relapse and lower long-term success rates in males.

scholarly journals Safe sex: male–female coalitions and pre-copulatory mate-guarding in a fiddler crab

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard N. C. Milner ◽  
Michael D. Jennions ◽  
Patricia R. Y. Backwell
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Maintenance Costs ◽  
Boundary Maintenance ◽  
Uca Annulipes ◽  
Males And Females

In fiddler crabs both males and females defend territories that are essential for survival. Given pronounced sexual dimorphism in weaponry, how do weaponless females defend their territory from well-armed males? Using observational data and two simple experiments, we test whether male Uca annulipes protect their female neighbours from conspecific intruders. We show that males defend their female neighbours against male but not female intruders. We also show that females sometimes mate with their immediate neighbours. Male defence of female neighbours appears to represent both pre-copulatory mate-guarding and a territorial coalition. Males who ensure that their neighbour remains female could benefit through increased opportunity for future reproductive success and lower boundary maintenance costs.

Sex differences in white adipose tissue expansion: emerging molecular mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 135 (24) ◽  
pp. 2691-2708
Author(s):  
Simon T. Bond ◽  
Anna C. Calkin ◽  
Brian G. Drew
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Tissue Expansion ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Genomic Association ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract The escalating prevalence of individuals becoming overweight and obese is a rapidly rising global health problem, placing an enormous burden on health and economic systems worldwide. Whilst obesity has well described lifestyle drivers, there is also a significant and poorly understood component that is regulated by genetics. Furthermore, there is clear evidence for sexual dimorphism in obesity, where overall risk, degree, subtype and potential complications arising from obesity all differ between males and females. The molecular mechanisms that dictate these sex differences remain mostly uncharacterised. Many studies have demonstrated that this dimorphism is unable to be solely explained by changes in hormones and their nuclear receptors alone, and instead manifests from coordinated and highly regulated gene networks, both during development and throughout life. As we acquire more knowledge in this area from approaches such as large-scale genomic association studies, the more we appreciate the true complexity and heterogeneity of obesity. Nevertheless, over the past two decades, researchers have made enormous progress in this field, and some consistent and robust mechanisms continue to be established. In this review, we will discuss some of the proposed mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism in obesity, and discuss some of the key regulators that influence this phenomenon.

scholarly journals Morphometric characters and their relationship in estuarine catfish

1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Begum ◽  
Abdullah Al-Mamun ◽  
ML Islam ◽  
MJ Alam
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Standard Length ◽  
Head Length ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Morphometric Characters ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Length Standard ◽  
Eye Diameter ◽  
Males And Females

The morphometric observations were made on total length, standard length, pre-caudal length, head length, eye diameter and depth of body at pectoral fin base of estuarine catfish M. gulio. Males and females showed homogeneity in characters. A linear relationship was found between total length and morphometric characters. Regression of length and weight did not deviate significantly from cube law indicating isometric growth. The fish exhibited sexual dimorphism. Keywords: Morphometric characters; Estuarine catfish; Mystus gulio DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v6i2.4833 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 6(2): 349-353, 2008

scholarly journals Biometric sexual and ontogenetic dimorphism on the marine catfish Genidens genidens (Siluriformes, Ariidae) in a tropical estuary

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-903
Author(s):  
Larissa G. Paiva ◽  
Luana Prestrelo ◽  
Kiani M. Sant'Anna ◽  
Marcelo Vianna
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Morphological Difference ◽  
Body Measurements ◽  
Guanabara Bay ◽  
Sex Dimorphism ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Maturity Stages ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Adipose Fin ◽  
Eye Depth

This paper aims to study the ontogenetic sexual dimorphism of Genidens genidens in Guanabara Bay, southeastern coast of Brazil. Altogether 378 specimens were anayzed (233 females and 145 males) with total length ranging from 13.3 to 43.5 cm. Specimens were measured for 12 body measurements, sex was identified and maturity stages were recorded and classified. Pearson’s linear correlation reveled a significant positive correlation between total length and all other body measures, except for base adipose fin, mouth depth and eye depth for immature females. Analyses nested PERMANOVA desing showed significant differences between maturity stages for each sex, between sexes considering or not maturity stages, indicating a variation in morphometric characteristics driven by sexual dimorphism. Differences among all maturity stages were also found, indicating an ontogenetic morphological difference. But immature individuals didn’t differ between sexes indicating that differentiation patterns starts with sexual development. The most important measures differing males and females were related to head characteristics, which appears to be key parameters to evaluate sexual differences. Due to male incubation of fertilized eggs and juvenile individuals <59 mm in their oral cavity, head measures are proposed to be sex dimorphism not related to reproduction, but with post reproductive fase due to ecological and biological needs.  [L1]Modificated  as suggested by Reviewer E.

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