Abstract
In many protogynous wrasses, large males with bright coloration (terminal phase males, TP males) establish mating territories and pair-spawn with females. In contrast, small primary males with drab coloration (initial phase males, IP males) are non-territorial and adopt three alternative reproductive tactics—group spawning, streaking, and sneaking. We investigated how IP males of the threespot wrasse Halichoeres trimaculatus use these tactics in different situations. The mating frequency of the IP males was positively correlated with their courtship frequency, but not with their body size. Larger IP males tended to attack the smaller ones at the mating sites. This indicates that the larger IP males attempted to exclude the smaller ones from mating with the intention of minimizing the number of IP males involved in group spawning and ultimately leading to pair spawning (sneaking). However, the larger IP males were unable to completely exclude the smaller males because the intensity of the attack by the larger IP males was weak. Consequently, the smaller IP males could easily streak into the sneaking of larger IP males, thereby resulting in group spawning.
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Acknowledgments
The Sesoko Station of Tropical Biosphere Research Center, the University of the Ryukyus, provided facilities for the fieldwork. We thank K. Sakai, S. Seki, T. Ichihashi, T. Sagawa, G. Takamoto, and I. Okamoto for their suggestions, and M. Kohda for commenting on the manuscript. This work was supported by a grant-in-aid to Y. Nakashima (no. 13640630) and K. Karino (no. 13740436) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This study is a contribution from the Sesoko Station. All fieldwork complied with the current laws of Japan.
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Suzuki, S., Toguchi, K., Makino, Y. et al. Group spawning results from the streaking of small males into a sneaking pair: male alternative reproductive tactics in the threespot wrasse Halichoeres trimaculatus . J Ethol 26, 397–404 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-008-0102-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-008-0102-3