Sex differences in the responses to oviposition site cues by a fish revealed by tests with an artificial host
Abstract
Oviposition decisions can have important fitness consequences for offspring. We investigated the responses of European bitterling, Rhodeus amarus, a freshwater fish that spawns in the gills of living unionid mussels, to oviposition site cues. Using an artificial mussel, we manipulated the flow velocity, dissolved oxygen concentration and odour cues of mussels presented to pairs of R. amarus. Females responded positively to mussel odour and to dissolved oxygen cues. Male response was dependent on mussel odour and the flow velocity of water emerging from the artificial mussel. These responses are potentially adaptive, with females responding to cues that indicate the quality of oviposition sites for incubation of eggs. Males responded to cues with implications for optimal sperm allocation.
Citation
Phillips , A , Reichard , M & Smith , C 2017 , ' Sex differences in the responses to oviposition site cues by a fish revealed by tests with an artificial host ' , Animal Behaviour , vol. 126 , pp. 187-194 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.011
Publication
Animal Behaviour
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0003-3472Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2017, The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at www.sciencedirect.com / http://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.011
Description
Funding came from the Czech Science Foundation (13-05872S).Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.