Pipefish Sexual Dimorphism
In most organisms, we typically notice the males that have striking traits to attract a mate. According to Bateman's principle, males are able to produce lots of sperm cells with little effort. However, females are not able to produce lots of eggs with little effort. It takes a lot of work and care for a female to carry an embryo and take care of the offspring. Since reproduction is much more costly for a female, the females have males competing to be with them. Typically this competition can be seen as different traits in males; such as, bright colors, fighting skills, and others. However, in pipefish, we see the opposite happen. The female pipefish are the ones that have vibrant, colorful bellies competing for males.
I hypothesize the pipefish females are the individuals displaying sexual dimorphism because the males are the parents that take care of the offspring. I think that it most be more costly for the males than the females in this case. I found that male pipefish actually have a pouch that serves kind of like a placenta. The males carry the embryo in the pouch that gives them nutrition. Since males are the ones that carry the embryos, it makes sense why the sexual dimorphism is switched. Since the males put in more work and effort, the females are the ones that have to compete for mates.
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