Question

In which case would protogyny (hermaphroditism in which females switch to being males at some point in life) most likely be favored?

A. Individual barnacles rarely encounter other members of their species

B. Large female snails can produce vastly more eggs than small ones.

C. Small individual shrimp are less conspicuous to predators.

D. Small male groupers do poorly at mating, but large individuals are able to defend a harem of females.

Answer 1

Option (d) is correct.

Protogyny which is the most common form of sequential hermaphroditism in fish and is permeating in species with polygynous mating systems. In these species, large males aggressively defend the territories in order to monopolize matings with females.