Premium
Sneakers, Satellites and Parentals: Polymorphic Mating Strategies in North American Sunfishes
Author(s) -
Gross Mart R.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
zeitschrift für tierpsychologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0044-3573
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1982.tb01073.x
Subject(s) - precocial , paternal care , centrarchidae , lepomis macrochirus , biology , mating , zoology , reproductive success , mating system , lepomis , population , ecology , demography , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , sociology , offspring , pregnancy , genetics , micropterus
In North American sunfishes ( Lepomis : Centrarchidae) ♂♂ build nests and provide solitary parental care for the young. In this paper I provide for bluegill ( L. macrocbirus ) a detailed account of ♂♂ which do not build nests, but steal fertilizations from the nests of other ♂♂. I begin by giving data on the behavior, morphology, and population demography of ♂♂. Next, through an analysis of individual male life‐histories, I show that cuckoldry and parenting are discrete alternative reproductive strategies. This is followed by a theoretical analysis and an empirical test of cuckoldry and parental care as evolutionarily stable strategies (a mixed ESS). Several predictions are made concerning how natural selection will influence the life‐history dynamics of these strategies. A general theory is then developed for sunfishes, and a first test made on the pumpkinseed ( L. gibbosus ). Finally, I note the parallels between male cuckoldry in sunfishes and precocial male life‐histories in salmon and cichlids.