Adjusting parental investment to changing environmental conditions: the effect of food ration on parental behaviour of the convict cichlid, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum

1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 494-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.J. Townshend ◽  
R.J. Wootton
Keyword(s):  
Parental Investment ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Food Ration ◽  
Parental Behaviour ◽  
Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum ◽  
Effect Of Food

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.

Breeding territoriality and pair formation in the convict cichlid (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum; Pisces, Cichlidae)

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 960-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Mackereth ◽  
Miles H. A. Keenleyside
Keyword(s):  
Parental Investment ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Breeding Territory ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
Investment Patterns ◽  
Spawning Sites

In many biparental species a sex difference in parental investment in a brood before fertilization, such as establishing a breeding territory or preparing a nest, may be an important component of the overall pattern of parental investment. Prefertilization investment patterns have been described for several species of biparental cichlid fishes, but there are discrepancies in the descriptions for the convict cichlid, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum. This study describes quantitatively the prespawning behaviour of male and female convict cichlids and examines the influence on their behaviour of limiting the number of available spawning sites. The results indicate that pair formation begins several days before spawning when the female begins to follow a male and chase other females away from him. The pair then begins to spend more time in a smaller area where spawning eventually occurs. The breeding territory is usually established by the pair on the day of spawning. There was little difference in the pattern of prespawning behaviour offish with abundant versus limited spawning sites. It appears that neither sex will establish a territory until the female is ready to spawn and the pair has formed.

Fin digging and leaf lifting by the convict cichlid, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum: examples of parental food provisioning

1995 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Wisenden ◽  
Tanya L. Lanfranconi-Izawa ◽  
Miles H.A. Keenleyside
Keyword(s):  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Food Provisioning ◽  
Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum
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