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Energetics of parental care in six syntopic centrarchid fishes

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Abstract

We studied parental behavior in six syntopically breeding species of centrarchid fishes to determine whether energetic costs could contribute to our understanding of the diversity of parental care. We used a combination of underwater videography, radio telemetry and direct observation to examine how the cost of parental care varied with both its duration and intensity. Duration of parental care, activity patterns, and energetic costs varied widely among species. Overall, the duration of care increased with parental size between species. When energetic costs were adjusted for species-specific differences in the duration of parental care, the cost of parental care also increased with mean size of the species. Species with extended parental care exhibited stage-specific patterns of activity and energy expenditure consistent with parental investment theory, whereas fish with short duration parental care tended to maintain high levels of activity throughout the entire period of parental care. The only apparent exception (a species with brief parental care but stage-specific behavior) was a species with multiple breeding bouts, and thus effectively having protracted parental care. These data suggest that some species with short duration parental care can afford not to adjust parental investment over stages of offspring development. Using our empirical data on parental care duration and costs, we reevaluated the relationship between egg size and quality of parental care. Variation in egg size explained almost all of the observed variation in total energetic cost of parental care, and to a lesser degree, duration—the larger the eggs, the more costly the parental care. This research highlights the value of incorporating energetic information into the study of parental care behavior and testing of ecological theory.

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Acknowledgements

This work was approved by the animal care committees at the University of Illinois and Queen’s University. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources provided necessary permits. We gratefully acknowledge the staff of the Queen’s University Biological Station, and in particular, Frank Phelan, for facilitating this work. Expert field assistance was provided by Kate Deters, Jack Degner, Emily Grant, Brandon Barthel, Deanna Barthel, Julie Claussen, Mickey Philipp, Madison Philipp, Maggie Bartkowska, Brian Jackson, Jenny Konrath, Jana Svec, Cory Suski, and Mike Siepker. Jenny Konrath also carefully transcribed data from the video recordings. Discussions with Scott Hinch facilitated analyses of videographic data. Comments provided by Dick Warner greatly improved the manuscript. Ted Garland kindly provided an updated version of software for PICs. Funding for this project was provided by a University of Illinois Research Board Grant to S.J.C. and D.P.P., a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Fellowship to S.J.C., and a University of Illinois Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Research Grant to S.J.C. Final preparation of the manuscript was supported by the University of British Columbia and Carleton University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Natural Resource Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, and Center for Aquatic Ecology and Conservation, Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, IL, USA

    Steven J. Cooke, David P. Philipp, David H. Wahl & Patrick J. Weatherhead

  2. Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois, and Center for Aquatic Ecology and Conservation, Illinois Natural History, Champaign, IL, USA

    David P. Philipp, David H. Wahl & Patrick J. Weatherhead

  3. Kaskaskia Biological Station, Illinois Natural History Survey, Sullivan, IL, USA

    David H. Wahl

  4. Institute of Environmental Science and Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1S 5B6

    Steven J. Cooke

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Correspondence to Steven J. Cooke.

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Communicated by Carol Vleck

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Cooke, S.J., Philipp, D.P., Wahl, D.H. et al. Energetics of parental care in six syntopic centrarchid fishes. Oecologia 148, 235–249 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0375-6

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