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Ovarian atresia and sex ratio imbalance in white sucker, Catostomus commersoni
Author(s) -
Trippel E. A.,
Harvey H. H.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1990.tb05598.x
Subject(s) - biology , sex ratio , atresia , population , sucker , ovary , zoology , anatomy , demography , endocrinology , sociology
In a small north‐temperate lake, 53–56% of post‐spawning, female white suckers spanning a wide range of ages showed ovarian atresia in 1981 and 1987. Comparison of ovarian atresia frequencies and adult sex ratios in nine white sucker populations indicated that this spawning disorder may have been due to a paucity of males at spawning. Adult female:male sex ratio in the King Lake population was 2.82:1 in 1981 and 2.73:1 in 1987, compared with 0.91:1 to 1.75:1 in populations that exhibited lower resorption frequencies (0–7.1%). Removal of 29% of the King Lake male suckers in 1988 elevated the female: male sex ratio to 3.5:1 and frequency of ovarian atresia rose to 75%. Unspawned ova were almost completely resorbed 3 months after the spring spawning period. Post‐spawning mortality was not different between spent and resorbing females. The somatic condition of resorbing and spent females did not differ. There was no evidence that atresia interfered with gamete development subsequently. The sex ratio imbalance present in King Lake was not a function of population density.