Abstract
Studies on sexual size dimorphism in Pectinidae are limited. This work deals with the mobile long-lived scallop Patinopecten yessoensis, a common (fished and cultured) species in the subtidal benthos of the Sea of Japan. A previously developed method of age determination in P. yessoensis allowed me to compare the parameters of same aged males and females in scallop populations. The shell growth rates and sizes of both sexes were similar; therefore, it was only possible to visually identify the sex of live specimens during the breeding period (May-June). Statistical analyses showed female-biased dimorphism in the gonad weight for age groups that are >4 years old. Gonad weight (in the prespawning period) increased with age, until a threshold age was attained, which varied between populations; and then gonad weight remained virtually unchanged. The fecundity advantage hypothesis for P. yessoensis with group mating and external fertilization is at least partly realized by physiological mechanisms, which cause older females to have larger gonads than those of same aged males in the population in order to produce a larger brood. Gregarious settlement of this bivalve contributes to the reproductive success of the population so that the energetically costly ovaries may all be fertilized.