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Male-male interference competition decreases spawning rate in the European bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus)

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Abstract

We investigated the consequences of male-male interference competition associated with alternative male mating tactics in a freshwater fish, the European bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus). Male bitterling defend territories around living mussels and attract females to lay their eggs in the gill cavities of mussels. We experimentally manipulated spawning-site abundance and male density at two spatial scales. We showed that the total number of eggs spawned by females was constrained by the number of mussels available for oviposition. The effect was mediated by behavioral interactions among competing males because of variation in the Operational Sex Ratio (OSR) in close proximity to a mussel and not by a direct limitation in mussel capacity to accommodate the eggs. Both total and local male densities affected spawning behavior, and interacted in their effect on female spawning rate. Territorial male aggression caused courtship interruptions that prolonged the time until successful spawning and increased with male density. However, territoriality broke down at the highest male density, with a consequent stabilizing effect on spawning rate.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Tamsin Burland, Ulrika Candolin, and Lars Chittka for their comments. This research was supported by a Royal Society (NATO/Royal Society fellowship awarded to M.R. and Royal Society Joint Project Grant awarded to C.S. and P.J.), and Czech Academy of Sciences Internal Grant awarded to M.R. M.R. holds a license for conducting experimental work on vertebrates in accordance with Czech legal requirements, and experiments complied with current Czech laws.

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Author notes

  1. Carl Smith

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

  2. Martin Reichard

    Present address: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 , Brno, Czech Republic

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London , E1 4NS, UK

    Martin Reichard & Carl Smith

  2. Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 , Brno, Czech Republic

    Pavel Jurajda

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  1. Martin Reichard
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Correspondence to Martin Reichard.

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Communicated by J. Krause

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Reichard, M., Jurajda, P. & Smith, C. Male-male interference competition decreases spawning rate in the European bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 56, 34–41 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-004-0760-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-004-0760-2

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