Abstract
Population structure, reproductive behavior and protogynous sex inversion of the angelfish Centropyge interruptus was studied in the waters of Miyake-jima, Japan.A single male dominates a harem of from one to four females, with the size of the harem being dependent upon the nature of the substrate.Females are controlled by aggressive herding by the single male.Six action patterns associated with maintenance of dominance by the male and with courtship are described.These include (1) rushing, (2) circling, (3) soaring, (4) mutual soaring, (5) nuzzling, and (6) spawning.Spawning usually takes place almost every day at approximately sunset during the period from May to October.
Removal of the male resulted in sex change by the ranking female.Histological ex-amination of the gonads confirmed field observations of protogynous sex inversion.The histology of the gonads of females, males and intermediate individuals is described.
