scholarly journals Convict cichlid parents that stay with the same mate develop unique and consistent divisions of roles

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10534
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Snekser ◽  
Murray Itzkowitz
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Direct Care ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Parental Roles ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
Amatitlania Nigrofasciata ◽  
Over Time

Previous studies, largely on avian species, have suggested that pairs that are permanently monogamous and have biparental care develop a coordination over time that enhances offspring survival. If this is the case, we predicted that a parent involved in biparental care would develop a pattern of biparental care specific to a particular mate and remain consistent in that pattern over time but would lose this pattern if it were to change mates. We tested this prediction with the convict cichlid fish (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) which has biparental care that is both complex and flexible. In this species, each parent can perform all parental roles but typically shows a division of labor in which males typically defend against offspring predators while the female typically provides direct care to the offspring. At various times, the parents briefly switch roles. Our experiments revealed that pairs that remained together for two consecutive broods were more consistent in their parental behaviors, including time they spent near the intruder and in the nest compared to pairs that were comprised of individuals that had previously mated with other partners. Also individuals that remained with the same partner were also more consistent as a parental unit, maintaining their sex-specific roles of males defending aggressively against an intruder and females spending more time directly caring for young. While our experiment clearly support our prediction that individuals do develop unique coordination with specific individuals, convict cichlids in nature appear to be largely serially monogamous in which they mate only once before changing partners. Thus, it is likely this coordination may be available in many species that have biparental care but become adaptive when repeated matings become common.

scholarly journals Serial monogamy benefits both sexes in the biparental convict cichlid

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Snekser ◽  
Murray Itzkowitz
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Brood Size ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Serial Monogamy ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
Amatitlania Nigrofasciata ◽  
Males And Females

Monogamy can be either long-term or serial, with new pairs formed with each breeding bout. Costs and benefits are associated with each strategy. Because biparental convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) typically switch mates, exhibiting serial monogamy, we tested for the costs associated with forcing individuals to remain with the same mate. Convict cichlids were observed over two successive breeding bouts, either with the same or a new, equally experienced, mate. Parental behavior did not differ between breeding bouts, nor did brood size. Surprisingly, fish that remained with their original partner for a second bout took significantly longer to produce a brood compared to fish that paired with new partners. New partners were also more likely to successfully produce a second brood than re-mated partners. This is in contrast to the majority of bird studies that show many benefits to staying with the same partner for multiple broods. In convict cichlids, there seems to be no benefit associated with remaining with the same partner and switching mates reduces duration between broods for both males and females, potentially increasing overall reproductive success.

Effects of Parent and Offspring Food Rations On Parental Care in the Convict Cichlid Fish (Pisces, Cichlidae)

Behaviour ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 129 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Kieffer ◽  
Robert J. Lavery
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Food Abundance ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
More Care

AbstractAnimals may provide more care for their young under certain environmental conditions. For instance, if food is plentiful parents may invest more in the current brood than if food is scarce, assuming that food abundance is correlated with parent and offspring condition. In this experiment, we manipulated food levels (low vs high) for both parents and offspring to determine if parental care is influenced by parental and/or offspring condition in the convict cichlid, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum. Parents which were fed a higher ration gained weight, whereas parents fed a lower ration lost weight. Similarly, young which were fed a higher ration were significantly larger than young fed a lower ration. Parents which were fed a higher ration defended their brood more vigorously than parents fed a lower ration. Offspring condition had little effect on parental care. Furthermore, females consistently invested more than males. The results show that parental convict cichlids adjust care in response to their own food supply rather than that of their offspring.

scholarly journals Reproductive behavior and parental roles of the cichlid fish Laetacara araguaiae

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrício Barreto Teresa ◽  
Eliane Gonçalves-de Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
South American ◽  
Territorial Defense ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Parental Roles ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Reproductive Phases

We described the reproductive behavior of the small South American cichlid Laetacara araguaiae in streams from Brazil. We predicted that this species will show reproductive cooperation and division of labor between males and females in a similar way presented by other substrate-spawner cichlids. Thus, we studied 34 pairs in the pre-spawning (n = 11), egg/wriggler (n = 11) and fry (n = 12) phases. In the pre-spawning phase both sexes become involved in nest building and territorial defense, but females emphasizes building nest (p = 0.03), while males invest more time in territorial defense (p = 0.04). After spawning, male and female alternate between rearing eggs and defending nest in the territory. In the egg/wriggler phase females devotes more time rearing the brood while males remain defending territory (p = 0.02). These differences disappear when young are in the fry stage, and parents jointly stay closer to fry (p = 0.98). However, at this phase, there is a reduction in the frequency of threats shown by males (p<0.01) and an increase in the frequency of attacks shown by female (p<0.01) that could be a response to an increased demand for parental defense. Our results indicate that the reproductive cooperation between males and females of L. araguaiae is marked by division of labor in the early reproductive phases and by sharing of parental duties as brood develops.

scholarly journals Probing aggressive motivation in a cichlid fish

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 762-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth Arnott ◽  
Robert Elwood
Keyword(s):  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Individual Fish ◽  
Amatitlania Nigrofasciata ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Surrogate Measure ◽  
Aggressive Motivation

The duration of startles provides an inverse measure of motivation to resume the previous activity. Here, we use a novel method in which one convict cichlid fish ( Amatitlania nigrofasciata ) of a competing pair was startled independently of the opponent. Fish were given various opponents and the mean startle duration determined. This mean was negatively correlated with the mean use of highly escalated ‘frontal activities’ such as biting and frontal display, but not the less escalated lateral displays or tail beating. Thus the startle duration was a reliable surrogate measure of the most escalated components of aggressive interactions. That is, it provided a motivational probe for aggressiveness of individual fish. Fight motivation is often determined in terms of fight duration or physiological costs for losers, who reveal the costs they are prepared to pay. We discuss various potential advantages of the motivational probe over previous measures, particularly with respect to winners and losers and different times during the interactions.

Aggressive behaviour among convict cichlid (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) fry of different sizes and its importance to brood adoption

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 2358-2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon A. Fraser ◽  
Brian D. Wisenden ◽  
Miles H. A. Keenleyside
Keyword(s):  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Young Measures ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Parental Rejection ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Free Swimming ◽  
Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
Differential Predation

Convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) exhibit extended biparental care of their young. Parents will adopt unrelated (foreign) conspecific young of similar size to or smaller than their own but reject larger foreign young. Adoption of smaller foreign young may benefit the parents by reducing loss of their own young to predators by the dilution effect, which may be enhanced by differential predation on the smaller young. Another factor influencing adoption is that larger foreign young may pose a direct predatory threat to the host parents' young. Measures of aggression among free-swimming young of different sizes showed that there was at least a 1 mm (standard length) size difference before larger young attacked smaller, a 3 mm difference before injury occurred, and a 4–5 mm difference before predation occurred. Parents were initially more discriminating than their young with respect to the size of foreign young accepted. As their young grew and became stronger swimmers, parents less actively rejected larger foreign young; however, they continued to reject them before they were large enough to pose a direct predatory threat. Parental rejection of relatively large foreign young is therefore based more on protecting their own young from differential predation than from aggression by larger adoptees.

Is the selection of sex-typical parental roles based on an assessment process? A test in the monogamous convict cichlid fish

2005 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Itzkowitz ◽  
N. Santangelo ◽  
A. Cleveland ◽  
A. Bockelman ◽  
M. Richter
Keyword(s):  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Parental Roles ◽  
Selection Of

scholarly journals Convict cichlids benefit from close proximity to another species of cichlid fish

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 610-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Topi K Lehtonen
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Sessile Organisms ◽  
Offspring Mortality

The coexistence of species with overlapping resource use is often thought to involve only negative fitness effects as a consequence of interspecific competition. Furthermore, the scarce empirical research on positive species interactions has predominantly focused on sessile organisms. Here, I experimentally assessed the effect of close proximity of a potential brood predator and competitor on reproductive success of a neotropical cichlid fish. I demonstrate that convict cichlid ( Archocentrus nigrofasciatus ) broods have a higher survival rate near territories of the Nicaragua cichlid ( Hypsophrys nicaraguensis ), and that escape from predation and nest takeovers is the most likely explanation for the decreased offspring mortality.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document