Reproductive periodicity and steroid hormone profiles in the sex-changing coral-reef fish, Plectropomus leopardus

Abstract

The reproductive biology of coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus, from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) was investigated by correlating gonadal condition with plasma levels of gonadal steroids. Female fish were found to be regressed from mid-summer to early spring, after which rapid and cyclical increases in gonado-somatic index (IG), maximum oocyte diameter (MOD) and plasma concentrations of estradiol-17β and testosterone were detected. Male fish, in contrast, commenced recrudescence slightly earlier in winter and responded with less dramatic increases in both IG and plasma concentrations of testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone. The mode of oocyte development was multiple group-synchronous, and cyclical fluctuations in reproductive parameters (IG, MOD and gonadal steroid concentrations) were synchronized with new-moon lunar phases. It is likely, therefore, that individual P. leopardus have the capacity to spawn on multiple occasions, with lunar periodicity. However, evidence suggests that early bouts of reproduction may be more important in terms of reproductive investment than subsequent bouts later in the same season. It is concluded that patterns of gametogenesis and steroidogenesis in P. leopardus are similar to the patterns displayed by other tropical groupers, suggesting that management regimes and propagation protocols developed for these fishes may also be appropriate for use with P. leopardus.