Abstract
Subtle ecological and behavioral mechanisms that enhance reproduction such as nest building by animals may provide useful information of population level processes. Variation in behavioral traits may be observed as phenotypic traits that are shaped by sexual and natural selection. Using ecological sampling of benthic substrata and underwater video recordings, we assessed nest-building behavior through habitat modifications, and size of individuals performing parental care behavior and egg/hatching traits of an abundant temperate reef fish, Chromis crusma. We identified that only male individuals performed nest building and uniparental care. We noted that nests containing filamentous green or red algae had the highest percent cover of eggs. Using video recordings, we provided evidence of parental care. Male individuals spent nearly 80% of their time inside the nest, aerating the eggs with their fins and mouth, removing unwanted materials, and defending the nest against conspecific, heterospecific, and other predators. The field-collected eggs, characterized by an oil globule and adhesive filaments, hatched after 7 days in the laboratory. The nest-building and parental care behavior of C. crusma lasted for 3 months, and several nests can be constructed throughout the season. The behavior of building and defending the nests, which is a characteristic of the family members, is a key aspect for the success of the C. crusma; this fish is abundant in kelp ecosystems of the southeastern Pacific.
Highlights
Subtle ecological and behavioral mechanisms that enhance reproduction such as nest building by animals may provide useful information of population level processes
As a first step to understand variability in parental care and nest-building behavior of an abundant temperate reef fish, we describe the information about the nest and the type of parental care and correlated this behavior with descriptions of the benthic eggs and recently hatched larvae
Habitat modifications by C. crusma We searched for demersal nests of C. crusma, defining a nest as an area containing eggs attached to a substratum that was guarded by an individual (Figure 1a,b)
Summary
Subtle ecological and behavioral mechanisms that enhance reproduction such as nest building by animals may provide useful information of population level processes. Using ecological sampling of benthic substrata and underwater video recordings, we assessed nest-building behavior through habitat modifications, and size of individuals performing parental care behavior and egg/hatching traits of an abundant temperate reef fish, Chromis crusma. Natural selection is expected to favor behaviors that maximize lifetime reproductive success where mixtures of behavioral phenotypes may exist among species and populations (Alcock 2009). A common care activity is fanning, in which the parent moves the pectoral, anal, and/or pelvic fins over the egg clutch, eliminating sediments from the surrounding environment (Goulet 1995). Egg size and development time can depend on predominance and duration of parental care (Sargent et al 1987; Shine 1978)
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