Anatomia testicular e sua influência na hierarquia social do ciclídeoanão Apistogramma Hippolytae (Kullander, 1982)

Abstract

Some species of cichlids apparently undergo protogynous sex change (female to male) at some point in the life cycle. Although frequently used to designate sex change at adulthood, the term protogyny also includes prematuracional sex change, which has been suggested to occur among cichlid fishes. In part, this stems from the record of the presence of purported oocytes in the testis of some cichlids, coupled with the typical behavior of hermaphroditic species with dominant males restricting reproductive access to females (i.e., the sex change would be influenced by social factors). However, giant cells considered to represent testicular oocytes were identified as giant spermatogonia in several species of African Haplochrominae cichlids. These cells are reported to increase in quantity with age and generations of hybrids, which was suggested to represent anomalies associated with aging. In the present study, we recorded the presence of giant spermatogonia in the testes of the dwarf cichlid Apistogramma hippolytae and noticed striking variations in the proportion of these cells along the reproductive stages. Individuals at reproductive regression phase had higher proportion of these cells, while a smaller proportion was found in mature (ready to release sperm) individuals. A similar pattern of quantitative variation in primary spermatogonia is found along the reproductive cycle of teleosts in general, which suggests that giant spermatogonia are indeed primary germ cells and contradicts the hypothesis of aging anomalies. In fact, these cells increase in amount with the size of male A. hippolytae, but there is no relationship between these cells and aggressiveness of individuals. This indicates that factors associated with aging that may affect testicular function, hormonal levels, and aggression apparently are not associated with the amount of giant spermatogonia. Our experimental results also indicate that social interactions are apparently not related to the occurrence or amount of such cells in the testes of A. hippolytae. Finally, we review the occurrence of giant spermatogonia among cichlid species and suggest a possible association of these cells with the polygamous mating system.