What is sequential Hermaphroditism?

Most vertebrates irreversibly develop (usually) into either a male or female. Development is tricky and things don’t always work out exactly that way, but as a general rule of thumb it works. Most vertebrate sex systems rely on individuals developing into one of two sexes. This is called gonochorism, where the male and female gametes are specific to male and female phenotypes that are specified during development. However, nature doesn’t always work so simply. Some fish are able to manipulate these sex determination pathways in order to change their sex during their lifetime. This is called sequential hermaphroditism. This is different from simultaneous hermaphroditism like is seen in some invertebrates and plants, where individuals naturally express both male and female reproductive structures. For fish that are sequential hermaphrodites, this means that they can change their sex during their lifetime as part of their natural sex system. There are several different directions these sorts of transitions can take, and different factors influence them. These details will be addressed in the following sections.

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