scholarly journals Mating and Parental Care in Lake Tanganyika's Cichlids

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina M. Sefc
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Reproductive Behaviors ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Care Patterns ◽  
Selection Intensities

Cichlid fishes of Lake Tanganyika display a variety of mating and parental care behaviors, including polygamous and monogamous mouthbrooding and substrate breeding, cooperative breeding, as well as various alternative reproductive tactics such as sneaking and piracy. Moreover, reproductive behaviors sometimes vary within species both in space and in time. Here, I survey reports on mating and parenting behaviors of Lake Tanganyika cichlid species and address the evolution of mating and parental care patterns and sexual dimorphism. Notes on measures of sexual selection intensity and the difficulties of defining mating systems and estimating selection intensities at species level conclude the essay.

scholarly journals Alternative Reproductive Tactics in the Shell-Brooding Lake Tanganyika Cichlid Neolamprologus brevis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazutaka Ota ◽  
Mitsuto Aibara ◽  
Masaya Morita ◽  
Satoshi Awata ◽  
Michio Hori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Alternative Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Sandy Bottom ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Somatic Condition ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Rocky Habitats ◽  
Sexually Mature

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are found in several Lake Tanganyika shell-brooding cichlids. Field studies were conducted in the Wonzye population to examine reproductive ecology and ARTs in the Lake Tanganyika shell-brooding cichlid Neolamprologus brevis. We discovered that this fish occurred in both rocky- and sandy-bottom habitats, but in rocky habitats, brood-caring females exclusively occurred in shell-patches that another cichlid species created. All N. brevis of both sexes in the patches were sexually mature, whereas immature males and females with unripe eggs were found frequently in sandy-bottom habitats. Males in sandy-bottom habitats were smaller, but fed more frequently and were in better somatic condition than males in the patches. Similar tendency was found in females. This indicates that N. brevis uses different habitats depending on the stage of its life history, with migration from sandy-bottom habitats to the shell-patches for reproduction. Males in the patches exhibited different behavior patterns: floating above the patches and lying in the patches. The former was larger, more aggressive, and invested less in gonads (relative to body size) than the latter. These results accord with those of other shell-brooding Lake Tanganyika cichlids with ARTs, and they therefore suggest the presence of ARTs in N. brevis.

scholarly journals Galanin and prolactin expression in relation to parental care in two sympatric cichlid species from Lake Tanganyika

2021 ◽  
pp. 113785
Author(s):  
Filipa Cunha-Saraiva ◽  
Rute S.T. Martins ◽  
Deborah M. Power ◽  
Sigal Balshine ◽  
Franziska C. Schaedelin
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Cichlid Species

scholarly journals The Evolution of Alternative Buoyancy Mechanisms in Freshwater Fish Eggs

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Chen ◽  
Carl Smith ◽  
Yeke Wang ◽  
Jun He ◽  
Wulai Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Freshwater Fishes ◽  
Perivitelline Space ◽  
Fish Eggs ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Oil Droplets ◽  
Pelagic Eggs

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are behavioural, morphological, and physiological traits associated with alternative reproductive phenotypes within a population or species. ARTs are widespread in nature, and are a particular feature of teleost fishes. However, few studies have examined egg buoyancy mechanisms in the context of the evolution of ARTs in freshwater fishes. In marine fishes, egg buoyancy is achieved chiefly through hydration. While the buoyancy of freshwater fish eggs has been suggested to be determined primarily through the presence of oil droplets, the majority (60%) of freshwater pelagic eggs do not possess an oil droplet. We applied a physical model of buoyancy to understand the contributions of oil droplets and hydration to the buoyancy of pelagic freshwater fish eggs. We further used phylogenetic regression to estimate the effect of the relative size of the perivitelline space, habitat and parental care on the occurrence of oil droplets, while controlling for non-independence among species due to phylogenetic relatedness. Our analysis demonstrates that the probability of oil droplets in freshwater pelagic eggs exhibits a significant negative relationship with the size of perivitelline space, which may reflect a trade-off relating to energy allocation in contrasting habitats. We also demonstrate a positive association between the probability of oil droplets and the provision of parental care and occupancy of lentic habitats. These findings indicates the evolution of contrasting buoyancy mechanisms as novel ARTs in freshwater fishes. A theoretical model in combination with empirical analysis indicate the evolution of novel ARTs in freshwater fishes as adaptive responses to flow conditions.

Life history and demography of an uncooperative Australian passerine, the brown thornbill

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 633 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Green ◽  
Andrew Cockburn
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Life History ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Reproductive Conflict ◽  
Annual Survival ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
C 63

The genus Acanthiza may be important in understanding the evolution of avian mating systems because while brown thornbills, Acanthiza pusilla, are thought to breed only in pairs, a recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that cooperative breeding is the ancestral trait within this genus. We provide a detailed account of the breeding biology of the brown thornbill, confirm that they breed exclusively in pairs, and compare their population demography with what is known for other members of the Pardalotidae. We found that brown thornbills produced small clutches (3 eggs) with a two-day laying interval, had a long incubation period (declining from 19 to 16 days through the season), and had a long breeding season (4.0 months) that allowed females to occasionally raise two successful broods. Brown thornbills, in our study, produced an average of 1.57 fledglings per pair and had relatively high annual survival rates (c. 63%). We found no evidence to suggest that the evolution of pair-breeding within the Pardalotidae is associated with a reduction in annual survival rates, a short breeding season with reduced productivity, or high levels of predation post-fledging. Since there also appear to be no ecological correlates with mating system in the Pardalotidae we suggest that examination of reproductive conflict between parents and young may shed light on the evolution of pairbreeding in this family.

scholarly journals The Adaptive Radiation of Cichlid Fish in Lake Tanganyika: A Morphological Perspective

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsumi Takahashi ◽  
Stephan Koblmüller
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Adaptive Radiation ◽  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Ancient Lakes ◽  
Species Assemblage ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Rapid Speciation ◽  
Explosive Speciation

Lake Tanganyika is the oldest of the Great Ancient Lakes in the East Africa. This lake harbours about 250 species of cichlid fish, which are highly diverse in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology. Lake Tanganyika's cichlid diversity has evolved through explosive speciation and is treated as a textbook example of adaptive radiation, the rapid differentiation of a single ancestor into an array of species that differ in traits used to exploit their environments and resources. To elucidate the processes and mechanisms underlying the rapid speciation and adaptive radiation of Lake Tanganyika's cichlid species assemblage it is important to integrate evidence from several lines of research. Great efforts have been, are, and certainly will be taken to solve the mystery of how so many cichlid species evolved in so little time. In the present review, we summarize morphological studies that relate to the adaptive radiation of Lake Tanganyika's cichlids and highlight their importance for understanding the process of adaptive radiation.

scholarly journals SEXUAL SELECTION DETERMINES PARENTAL CARE PATTERNS IN CICHLID FISHES

Evolution ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 62 (8) ◽  
pp. 2015-2026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer ◽  
John L. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Niclas Kolm
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Care Patterns

Differential attack by a cichlid fish on resident and non-resident fish of another cichlid species

Behaviour ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Awata ◽  
Masanori Kohda ◽  
Haruki Ochi
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Previous Experience ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
Differential Attack ◽  
Dear Enemy ◽  
Resident Fish ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Dear Enemy Effect

AbstractAn algivorous cichlid, Variabilichromis moorii( Vm), defends permanent territories in Lake Tanganyika, Africa. A zoobenthivorous cichlid, Neolamprologus mustax( Nm), spends 60% of daylight hours foraging in Vmterritories, from which other zoobenthivorous fishes are chased out and consequently which are much richer in prey animals than areas outside of Vmterritories. We conducted a field experiment to examine whether Nmresidents and non-residents received different degrees of attacks from Vm. Nmfish were caught in their territories, released at a point distant from these territories, and followed to observe interactions with Vmfish. The frequency of attacks received by the displaced Nmfish was greater than attacks received by Nmresidents, indicating that Nmresidents had easier access to Vmterritories than non-residents did. A possible mechanism for this is reduced aggression of Vmtowards Nmresidents, as a result of the ‘dear enemy’ effect that has been reported in territorial contests between rivals. An alternative mechanism is that tolerance towards Nmdiffers among Vmfish and Nmresidents selectively visit more tolerant Vmfish due to previous experience while non-residents randomly approach both tolerant and hostile Vmfish. The ability of Vmto discriminate between Nmresidents and non-residents is essential to the former mechanism but not to the latter. To more specifically examine which mechanism works in the Vm– Nmcommensal system, we will need to follow individually identified Vmfish interacting with Nmresidents and non-residents.

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