Summary
Two closely related species of sticklebacks (Pisces:Gasterosteidae), breeding in the same site at the same time, showed different patterns of egg cannibalism. In Gasterosteus aculeatus the intensity of cannibalism was density-dependent and females were the most important cannibals. In G. wheatlandi cannibalism was not density-dependent and males ate more eggs than females. This study indicates that sex-specific patterns of cannibalism can differ widely between species despite their similar ecology, and it provides evidence inconsistent with a currently popular explanation for egg cannibalism.
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Whoriskey, F.G., FitzGerald, G.J. Sex, cannibalism and sticklebacks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18, 15–18 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299233
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299233