Abstract
The effects of environmental warming on aquatic poikilotherms, such as fish, are likely to be manifest during periods of high metabolic demand. For species that invest heavily in parental-care, such as the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., their reproductive success may be adversely affected. In two separate experiments with temperatures raised by 2°C to 6°C above 16–17°C ambient over a whole breeding season, we quantified changes to parental-care behaviour and the resultant reproductive success of G. aculeatus. As temperature increased, male parental-care behaviour was altered, particularly the fanning of the fertilised eggs. Fanning behaviour was highly variable among individual fish however it increased over the course of incubation. Furthermore, all egg incubating fish consistently fanned at a faster rate in higher temperatures. The male fish responded to the increased temperature by putting more effort into fanning. The consequence was that these fish had a higher rate of incubation failure and an increased likelihood of mortality. The pattern of alteration to parental care behaviour and decreased reproductive success with higher temperature was remarkably consistent across the individual fish, which suggests consequences at the population level of increased ambient temperatures.
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Acknowledgements
KH was supported by a UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) studentship number NER/A/A/2003/11290. Staff at the University of Liverpool Horticultural and Experimental Station at Ness, the Wirral (Lat: 53° 16′ 12.4150″, Long: −3° 2′ 36.8455″), are extended thanks, as are University of Liverpool technicians Les Connor and Mike O’Connor. We thank three anonymous reviewers and the editor for insightful comments. This research adhered to the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research and the legal requirements of the UK Home Office and all institutional guidelines.
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Hopkins, K., Moss, B.R. & Gill, A.B. Increased ambient temperature alters the parental care behaviour and reproductive success of the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Environ Biol Fish 90, 121–129 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9724-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9724-8