Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T18:57:15.479Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Female Mimicry as a Mating Tactic in Males of the Blenniid Fish Salaria Pavo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Emanuel J. Gonçalves
Affiliation:
Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Pisdologia Aplicada, R. Jardim do Tabaco 44, 1100 Lisboa, Portugal
Vitor C. Almada
Affiliation:
Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Pisdologia Aplicada, R. Jardim do Tabaco 44, 1100 Lisboa, Portugal
Rui F. Oliveira
Affiliation:
Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Pisdologia Aplicada, R. Jardim do Tabaco 44, 1100 Lisboa, Portugal
António J. Santos
Affiliation:
Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Pisdologia Aplicada, R. Jardim do Tabaco 44, 1100 Lisboa, Portugal

Extract

In this paper we present evidence for female mimicry in a population of Salaria pavo (Pisces: Blenniidae). Parental males differ markedly from females by the presence of a large crest on the head and anal glands on the two spiny rays of the anal fin. We found a proportion of smaller and younger males that are almost identical to females both in morphology and behaviour. These ‘female-like’ males lack secondary sexual characters and actively court parental males, displaying the female's colour pattern and courting behaviour. These males are sexually mature and their gonadosomatic indices are higher than those of parental males. Female mimicry is considered to be a functional way to achieve sneak fertilizations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Almada, V.C., Gonçalves, E.J., Oliveira, R.F. & Santos, A.J., 1995. Courting females: ecological constraints affect sex roles in a natural population of the blenniid fish Salaria pavo. Animal Behaviour, 49, 11251127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almada, V.C., Goncalves, E.J., Santos, A.J. & Baptista, M.C., 1994. Breeding ecology and nest aggregations in a population of Salaria pavo (Pisces: Blenniidae) in an area where nest sites are very scarce. Journal of Fish Biology, 45, 819830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almada, V.C. & Santos, R.S., 1995. Parental care in the rocky littoral: adaptation and exaptation in Atlantic and Mediterranean blennies. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 5, 2337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brantley, R.K., Wingfield, J.C. & Bass, A.H., 1993. Sex steroid levels in Porichthys notatus, a fish with alternative reproductive tactics, and a review of the hormonal bases for male dimorphism among teleost fishes. Hormones and Behavior, 27, 332347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fishelson, L., 1963. Observations on littoral fishes of Israel. I. Behaviour of Blennius pavo Risso (Teleostei: Blenniidae). Israel Journal of Zoology, 12, 6780.Google Scholar
Gibson, R.N., 1969. The biology and behaviour of littoral fish. Oceanography and Marine Biology. Annual Review. London, 7, 367–10.Google Scholar
Gibson, R.N., 1982. Recent studies on the biology of intertidal fishes. Oceanography and Marine Biology. Annual Review. London, 20, 363–114.Google Scholar
ICN, 1993. Livro Vermelho dos Vertebrados de Portugal, vol. III. Peixes Marinhos e Estuarinos. Lisboa: ICN.Google Scholar
Jonge, J. de, Ruiter, A.J.H. de & Hurk, R. van den, 1989. Testis-testicular gland complex of two Tripterygion species (Blennioidei, Teleostei): differences between territorial and non-territorial males. Journal of Fish Biology, 35, 497508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jonge, J. de & Videler, J.J., 1989. Differences between the reproductive biologies of Tripterygion tripteronotus and T. delaisi (Pisces, Perciformes, Tripterygiidae): the adaptive significance of an alternative mating strategy and a red instead of a yellow nuptial colour. Marine Biology, 100, 431437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahnsteiner, F. & Patzner, R. A., 1990. Functions of the testicular gland of blenniid fish: structural and histochemical investigations. Experientia, 46, 10051007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahnsteiner, F., Richtarski, U. & Patzner, R.A., 1990. Functions of the testicular gland in two blenniid fishes, Salaria (=Blennius) pavo and Lipophrys (=Blennius) dalmatinus (Blenniidae, Teleostei) as revealed by electron microscopy and enzyme histochemistry. Journal of Fish Biology, 37, 8597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liley, N.R. & Stacey, N.E., 1983. Hormones, pheromones and reproductive behavior in fish. In Fish physiology, vol. IX. Reproduction. Part B. Behavior and fertility control (ed. W.S., Hoar et al.), pp. 163. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Milton, P., 1983. Biology of littoral blenniid fishes on the coast of south-west England. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 63, 223237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papaconstantinou, C.A., 1979. Secondary sex characters of Blennioid fishes (Pisces: Blenniidae). Thalassographica, 1, 5775.Google Scholar
Patzner, R.A., 1984. The reproduction of Blennius pavo (Teleostei, Blenniidae). II. Surface structures of the ripe egg. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 213, 4450.Google Scholar
Patzner, R.A. & Seiwald, M., 1987. The reproduction of Blennius pavo (Teleostei, Blenniidae). VI. Testicular cycle. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 219, 265273.Google Scholar
Patzner, R.A., Seiwald, M., Adlgasser, M. & Kaurin, G., 1986. The reproduction of Blennius pavo. V. Reproductive behaviour in natural environment. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 216, 338350.Google Scholar
Qasim, S.Z., 1957. The biology of Blennius pholis L. (Teleostei). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 128, 161208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinboth, R. & Becker, B., 1986. In vitro-metabolization of [14C] testosterone by spermatogenic tissue and accessory gland of Blennius pavo (Blenniiformes, Teleostei). General Endocrinology, 5, 1116.Google Scholar
Santos, R.S., 1985. Parentais e satélites: tácticas alternativas de acasalamento nos machos de Blennius sanguinolentus Pallas (Pisces: Blenniidae). Arquipélago – Série Ciências da Natureza, 6, 119146.Google Scholar
Santos, R.S., 1992. Behavioural ecology, phenology and ethology of an intertidal blenny, Parablennius sanguinolentus parvicornis (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1836) (Pisces: Blenniidae), from the Azores. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.Google Scholar
Santos, R.S. & Almada, V.C., 1988. Intraspecific variations in reproductive tactics in males of the rocky intertidal fish Blennius sanguinolentus, in Azores. In Behavioral adaptation to intertidal life (ed. G., Chellazi and M., Vannini), pp. 421447. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, R.S., Nash, R.D.M. & Hawkins, S.J., 1995. Age, growth and sex ratio of the Azorean rock-pool blenny, Parablennius sanguinolentus parvicornis. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 75, 751754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taborsky, M., 1994. Sneakers, satellites and helpers: parasitic and cooperative behavior in fish reproduction. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 23, 1100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thresher, R.E., 1984. Reproduction in reef fishes. Neptune City: T.F.H. Publications.Google Scholar
Wirtz, P., 1978. The behaviour of the Mediterranean Tripterygion species (Pisces, Blennioidei). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 48, 142174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wirtz, P., 1982. Territory holders, satellite males and bachelor males in a high density population of waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) and their associations with conspecifics. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 58, 277300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zander, C.D., 1975. Secondary sex characteristics of Blennioid fishes (Perciformes). Pubblicazioni della Stazioni Zoologica di Napoli, 39, 717727.Google Scholar