Abstract
Subtidal spawning of the cottid fish Enophrys bison occurs in southern British Columbia, where in the field a smaller subtidal cottid, Asemichthys taylori, exclusively utilizes E. bison nests by overlaying its own eggs on top of the E. bison eggs. In the laboratory, spawning of A. taylori in the absence of E. bison nests was observed to occur adjacent to eggs of another sculpin, Icelinus borealis, but no spawning of A. taylori was observed in the field in association with nests of any fish other than E. bison. The E. bison male guards the composite cluster of egg masses, and the A. taylori eggs hatch faster than the earlier laid E. bison eggs. Enophrys bison embryonic development appears retarded by overlying A. taylori eggs so the spawning by A. taylori on E. bison egg masses is a form of nesting parasitism, a behavior previously unknown among marine fishes. This study is the first report of interspecific nesting for marine fishes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baba R, Nagata Y, Yamagishi S (1990) Brood parasitism and egg robbing among three freshwater fish. Anim Behav 40:776–778
Blaxter JHS (1969) Development: eggs and larvae. In: Hoar WS, Randall DJ (eds) Fish physiology 3. Academic Press, New York, pp 177–252
Coffie PA (1998) Status of the spinynose sculpin, Asemichthys taylori, in Canada. Can Field-Nat 112:130–132
Coleman RM, Fischer RU (1991) Brood size, male fanning effort and the energetics of a non-shareable parental investment in bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus (Teleostei: Centrarchidae). Ethology 87:177–188
DeMartini EE (1978) Spatial aspects of reproduction in buffalo sculpin, E. bison. Environ Biol Fish 3:331–336
Eschmeyer WN, Herald ES, Hammann H (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Goff GP (1984) Brood care of longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) by smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui). Copeia 1984:149–152
Hart JL (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Fish Res Board Can Bull 180
Hunter JR, Hasler AD (1965) Spawning association of the redfin shiner, Notropis umbratilis, and the green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus. Copeia 1965:265–281
Hunter JR, Wisby WJ (1961) Utilization of the nests of green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) by the redfin shiner (Notropis umbratilis cyanocephalus). Copeia 1961:113–115
Johnston CE (1994a) Nest association in fishes: evidence for mutualism. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 35:379–383
Johnston CE (1994b) The benefit to some minnows of spawning in the nests of other species. Environ Biol Fish 40:213–218
Kramer RH, Smith LL (1960) Utilization of nests of large-mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) by golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas). Copeia 1960:73–74
Lamb A, Edgell P (1986) Coastal fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park BC
Marliave JB (1995) Developmental retardation of Pacific herring larvae hatched from overspawned, low-viability eggs. In: Hay D, McCarter PB (eds) Proceedings of the seventh Pacific Coast herring workshop, January 27–28, 1994, Vancouver, B.C. Can Tech Rep Fish Aquat Sci 2060, pp 197–205
Marliave JB, Kent DI, Fisher JD (2010) Larval development of Asemichthys taylori (Cottidae). Ichthyol Res 57:199–203
McKaye KR (1981) Natural selection and the evolution of interspecific brood care in fishes. In: Alexander R, Tinkle D (eds) Natural selection of social behavior. Chiron, New York, pp 173–183
McKaye KR (1985) Cichlid-catfish mutualistic defense of young in Lake Malawi, Africa. Oecologia 66:358–363
Munehara H, Sideleva VG, Goto A (2002) Mixed-species brooding between two Baikal sculpins: field evidence for intra- and interspecific competition for reproductive resources. J Fish Biol 60:981–988
Ochi H, Onchi T, Yanagisawa Y (2001) Alloparental care between catfishes in Lake Tanganyika. J Fish Biol 59:1279–1286
Payne RB (1977) The ecology of brood parasitism in birds. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 8:1–28
Sato T (1986) A brood parasitic catfish of mouthbrooding cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika. Nature 323:58–59
Smith NG (1968) The advantage of being parasitized. Nature 219:690–694
Steele BD, Pearson WD (1981) Commensal spawning behavior of the rosefin shiner, Notropis ardens, in nests of longear sunfish, Lepomis megaotis. In: Noakes DLG, Ward JA (eds) Ecology and ethology of fishes. W. Junk, The Hague, p 138
Acknowledgments
We thank the support of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. Collections were carried out under the Licence to Fish for Scientific, Experimental or Educational Purposes permit issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). For this study animal cultivation protocols were under the scrutiny of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre’s Board of Governors’ Conservation and Research Committee. We thank Steve Martell for assistance with diving observations and Charlie Gibbs for the nest photo. Manuscript reviews were provided by Ron Coleman, Alejandro Frid and Daisuke Takahashi.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Kent, D.I., Fisher, J.D. & Marliave, J.B. Interspecific nesting in marine fishes: spawning of the spinynose sculpin, Asemichthys taylori, on the eggs of the buffalo sculpin, Enophrys bison . Ichthyol Res 58, 355–359 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-011-0223-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-011-0223-5