Active feminization of the brain in anemonefish

Pronitcheva, Veronica

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109815 Copy

Description

Title

Active feminization of the brain in anemonefish

Author(s)

Pronitcheva, Veronica

Contributor(s)

Rhodes, Justin

Issue Date

2021

Keyword(s)

• Clownfish
• Neuroscience
• Feminization

Abstract

Amphiprion ocellaris, also known as clownfish or anemonefish, live in small groups of 2-4 fish symbiotically in association with sea anemones on coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific. This image depicts a female clownfish emerging from an anemone within its blue-lighted coral reef tank. Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites meaning they start their lives off as male and then change sex into female, only if they achieve social dominance (alpha position) in the group. During the feminization process, the brain changes first while the testes shrink away. Within the first few months, new neurons sprout up in an area of the brain that controls the gonads. Long before eggs develop, and the fish display female sex hormones, the fish behave as a female sometimes for years before they produce eggs. Anemonefish disrupt the traditional definition of sex, and provide a useful model for understanding how the female brain develops in absence of sex hormones.

Type of Resource

• text
• still image

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109815

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2021 Veronica Pronitcheva

Owning Collections