Article

Gender distribution, sexual size dimorphism and morphometric sexing in ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta

Details

Citation

Leclercq E, Grant B, Davie A & Migaud H (2014) Gender distribution, sexual size dimorphism and morphometric sexing in ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta. Journal of Fish Biology, 84 (6), pp. 1842-1862. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12402

Abstract
In wild ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta, mass-length relationships were not different between genders, and positive allometry was found in the mixed-gender population. Male-biased sexual size dimorphism was significant and the most effective morphometric method for sexing L. bergylta outside of the species spawning window used body mass (MB in g), total body length (LT in mm) and Fulton's condition factor (K) as discriminant variables to predict gender with 91% accuracy. The discriminant score (SD) of a specimen can be calculated as SD = 0·01MB - 0·016LT - 3·835K + 6·252 to predict its gender as female or male if SD is < 1·459 or SD is > 1·504, respectively. There was a potential trend towards earlier sexual inversion compared to previous studies at comparable latitudes. Sex change is a phenotypically plastic trait under social control in haremic fishes and should be monitored in increasingly exploited L. bergylta.

Keywords
gender identification; geometric morphometrics; mass–length relationship; truss network analysis

Journal
Journal of Fish Biology: Volume 84, Issue 6

StatusPublished
FundersTechnology Strategy Board
Publication date30/06/2014
Publication date online02/06/2014
Date accepted by journal12/03/2014
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/21983
PublisherWiley
ISSN0022-1112
eISSN1095-8649

People (1)

Professor Herve Migaud

Professor Herve Migaud

Honorary Professor, Institute of Aquaculture

Projects (1)