Work

Alternative male life histories in bluegill sunfish

Year: 1980

Type: article

Abstract: MALE BLUEGILL SUNFISH ARE SHOWN TO HAVE TWO ALTERNATIVE MATING STRATEGIES: cuckoldry or parental care. Cuckolder males first mature at age 2. They follow a developmental sequence of sneaking and then mimicking female behavior to deceptively gain access to spawnings. Males who become parentals (construct nests, attract females, provide brood care) delay maturation until age 7. The parental investment of these males is parasitized by the cuckolders. This system is an example of a truly parasitically dependent mating strategy in vertebrates. A natural selection model is developed to predict the equilibrium frequencies of the two male types. A preliminary test of the model provides qualitative agreement.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.77.11.6937

Authors: Mart R. Gross, Eric L. Charnov

Institutions: University of Utah, University of Washington

Language: English

Topic: Animal Behavior and Reproduction

Subfield: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, Queen's University, National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources

Award: BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH SUPPORT