Paternal care and egg survival both increase with clutch size in the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas

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126 Scopus citations

Abstract

In some species of fishes with paternal care, females prefer to spawn with males who are already defeding eggs; moreover, in many species, paternal care increases with the number of eggs that a male is defending. If egg survival depends on the level of paternal care, and is largely independent of egg number, then egg survival should increase with clutch size. This result would provide a potential adaptive mechanism for female preference for males with eggs. I examined the effects of clutch size on paternal care and egg survival in the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, and found that both increased with male clutch size.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-37
Number of pages5
JournalBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Volume23
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1988

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Animal Science and Zoology

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