Do monogamous male and female Texas Cichlid parents defend their offspring similarly?

Authors

Jennifer L. Snekser, Department of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, Canisius College, Buffalo, NYFollow
Layla Al-Shaer, Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PAFollow
Andrew Bloch, Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PAFollow
M. Itzkowitz, Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PAFollow

Abstract

Biparental care involves both parents contributing to offspring, though each parent does not necessarily contribute equally or in the same manner. While offspring benefit from parental care, sexual conflict arises within parental pairs because each sex would benefit from a partner’s greater contribution to the young. Nevertheless, each parent may be better suited or have preferences for the type and intensity of care they provide. Here, we examined parental pairs of Texas Cichlids in a naturally occurring population in southwest Texas as they defended their free-swimming fry against potential conspecific and heterospecific predators. Sex differences were apparent, with females generally directing higher levels of aggression at intruding fishes and males spending more time away from the brood of fry. Although parents performed the same activities, they exhibited these activities with different durations and frequencies, with the result that the male parents spent less time with the fry and chased fewer intruders.


El cuidado biparental implica que ambos padres contribuyen a la descendencia, aunque cada uno de ellos no contribuye necesariamente por igual o de la misma manera. Aunque las crías se benefician de los cuidados de los padres, surge un conflicto sexual dentro de las parejas parentales, ya que cada sexo se beneficiaría con una gran contribución a las crías por parte de su pareja. Sin embargo, cada progenitor puede ser más adecuado o tener preferencias en cuanto al tipo e intensidad de los cuidados que proporciona. Aquí, examinamos las parejas parentales de Texas Cichlids en una población que se da de forma natural en el suroeste de Texas mientras defendían a sus alevines que nadaban libremente contra posi­bles depredadores coespecíficos y heteroespecíficos. Las diferencias de sexo fueron evidentes, ya que las hembras general­mente dirigían mayores niveles de agresión a los peces intrusos y los machos pasaban más tiempo lejos de la cría de alevines. A pesar de que los progenitores realizaban las mismas actividades, las mostraban con distinta duración y frecuencia, de modo que los machos pasaban menos tiempo con los alevines, perseguían a menos intrusos.

Recommended Citation

Snekser, Jennifer L.; Al-Shaer, Layla; Bloch, Andrew; and Itzkowitz, M. (2023) "Do monogamous male and female Texas Cichlid parents defend their offspring similarly?," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 83: No. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol83/iss1/1