Researchers from the National Oceanography Center in Southampton have discovered that Antarctic molluscs (bivalves) switch sex in order to more efficiently reproduce in the frigid waters.
The reproduction of this mollusc, Lissarca miliaris was described in the 1970s but according to lead author and PhD student Adam Reed, it “only looked at the large eggs and broods.”
During their research, they found that males were carrying large numbers of eggs. They suggested that the bivalves may reproduce as males while they are still young, and switch to female organs as they mature and grow large enough to hold all the eggs.
“We also found that after males become female, the male reproductive tissue persists for a long time,” he said.
To learn more, click on the links below:
- Read the full story from the BBC: Antarctic molluscs ‘switch sex’
- Read their results published in the journal Polar Biology: An unusual hermaphrodite reproductive trait in the Antarctic brooding bivalve Lissarca miliaris (Philobryidae) from the Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean
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