Open AccessLow temperature has opposite effects on sex determination in a marine fish at the larval/postlarval and juvenile stages
Author(s) -
Vandeputte Marc,
Clota Frédéric,
Sadoul Bastien,
Blanc MarieOdile,
BlondeauBidet Eva,
Bégout MarieLaure,
Cousin Xavier,
Geffroy Benjamin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.6972
Subject(s) - dicentrarchus , juvenile , sea bass , biology , sex ratio , juvenile fish , zoology , fish <actinopterygii> , larva , population , bass (fish) , ecology , fishery , demography , sociology
Temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) can be observed in multiple reptile and fish species. It is adaptive when varying environmental conditions advantage either males or females. A good knowledge of the thermosensitive period is key to understand how environmental changes may lead to changes in population sex ratio. Here, by manipulating temperature during development, we confirm that cold temperature (16°C) increases the proportion of fish that develop as females in European sea bass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ) until 56 days posthatching, but show that it has an opposite effect at later stages, with the proportion of males reaching ~90% after 230 days at 16°C. This is the first observation of opposite effects of temperature at different time periods on the sex ratio of a vertebrate. Our results highlight the potential complexity of environmental effects on sex determination.