Abstract
The abundance of benthic macro-invertebrates, the main prey of river blennies Salaria fluviatilis, decreased drastically through the blenny reproductive season in the River Matarraña, south-east Spain. Despite this, females maintained their body condition, while the body condition of males increased. The latter coincided with the onset of egg guarding, which is carried out by males and which provided them with an opportunity to cannibalize eggs. Indeed, significantly more males than females were egg cannibals. The proportion of cannibalistic males increased as the season progressed, but the overall frequency remained low (7·4%). The number of eggs eaten was not related to the weight of macro-invertebrates ingested by males. In addition, the body condition of cannibalistic and non-cannibalistic males was similar and was not correlated with the number of eggs ingested. It is possible that non-cannibalistic males may have eaten and digested eggs prior to capture. It is concluded that even in productive rivers such as the Matarraña, males may still rely on filial cannibalism to survive until the end of the parental care period.
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