Evolution of asymmetric sexes: an empirical approach to the evolution of anisogamy using a green alga

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25291097
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Chiba University
• Principal Investigator: Togashi Tatsuya 千葉大学, 海洋バイオシステム研究センター, 教授 (70345007)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YOSHIMURA Jin 静岡大学, 創造科学技術大学院, 教授 (10291957)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 異型配偶 / 性淘汰 / 精子競争

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Anisogamy (mating system where gamete size is different between the two sexes) causes sexual selection through sperm competition. Therefore, answering questions on the mechanisms of the evolution of anisogamy is the most fundamental approach to understand the evolution of sexual dimorphism in morphology and behavior. In this research, we obtained the first empirical supports to the two important theoretical assumptions on 1) the role of male gametic resources to improve the fitness of a zygote and 2) the relationship between zygote size and its fitness, by focusing on several useful traits of a green alga.

Free Research Field

進化生態学