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Behavioral changes of a Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis when guarding egg clutches

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Abstract

This study aimed at comparing the feeding, territorial and agonistic behavior of the Rocas Gregory Stegastes rocasensis when guarding egg clutches. This was accomplished through underwater observations of 80 S. rocasensis individuals observed in four sampling sites in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago (SW Atlantic). Several differences were detected in the behavior of S. rocasensis, such as the reduced size of the territory, the feeding preferences and the aggressiveness towards intruders. Males guarding eggs defended territories twice as small as the ones that did not present egg clutches inside their territories. Additionally, they fed mostly on turf algae, while individuals without eggs in their territories fed mostly on turf and macroalgae. Fish guarding egg clutches elicited agonistic reactions mainly towards planktivores and omnivorous fishes, which could potentially prey on their eggs, while individuals without eggs clutches in their territories elicited agonistic reactions mainly towards herbivorous fishes. The results of the present study reinforces that damselfishes are able to identify the intruder’s identity and elicit agonistic reactions only toward species that may represent a threat to their eggs and/or farmed algae.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank: Humberto Gitirana, Leandro Valentim and Tamara Fogel for their help during field work; Renato Grempel for helping with AUTOCAD software. Special thanks are due to the Águas Claras diving center, for allowing free use of its facilities, and to IBAMA for issuing research permits to the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park. The work conforms to the legal requirements of the country in which it was carried out, including those relating to conservation and welfare, and to the journal’s policy on these matters. Financial support was provided by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) to the first author, and by the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences (Zoology), Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Currently A.T. Souza is supported by a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/71232/2010) and M.I. Ilarri by a Post-doc grant (SFRH/BPD/90088/2012) from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal) after Universidade Federal da Paraíba.

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  1. CIMAR/CIIMAR Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    A. T. Souza & M. I. Ilarri

  2. ICBAS – Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Lg. Prof. Abel. Salazar, 2, 4099-003, Porto, Portugal

    A. T. Souza & M. I. Ilarri

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Correspondence to A. T. Souza.

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Souza, A.T., Ilarri, M.I. Behavioral changes of a Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis when guarding egg clutches. Environ Biol Fish 97, 1295–1303 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0215-6

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