engleski

Gender identification in the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) based on gonadal tissue coloration

The coloration of gonadal tissue has been proposed as a reliable indicator of sex allowing a visual identification of gender. Male mytilids usually have milky white gonads while females have orange ones. Carotenoid pigments, responsible for the orange coloration, are known to be involved in defense against oxidative stress. Males could thus also display high concentrations of carotenoids according to their position in the mussel bed and the reproduction cycle, which could lead to gender misidentification with color-based approaches. Research has been performed to determine the reliability of color-based gender identification by comparing results with results obtained by histology. Both methods were applied to mussels from an intertidal polluted rocky shore and a subtidal mussel farm. Histology showed dominance of males in both sites. On the contrary, based on gonad color, the frequency of females in both sites was higher. In both sites, numerous males were incorrectly sexed. According to the results, color-based gender identification is not reliable, so it is necessary to perform histology.

mytilus galloprovincialis ; mediterranean mussel ; gonad coloration ; histology ; gender

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