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Churchman EKL, Hain TJA, Knapp R, Neff BD. Parental care behaviour in response to perceived paternity is not mediated by 11-ketotestosterone in bluegill sunfish. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2023; 343:114367. [PMID: 37604349 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2023.114367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Parental care is critical for the survival of many young animals, but parental care can be costly to the individual providing care. To balance this cost, parents can allocate their care to offspring based on their value, which can be dependent on the offspring's relatedness to the parent. Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a fish characterized by uniparental male care and high levels of cuckoldry. While parental males of this species have been shown to adaptively adjust their care in response to paternity, the mechanisms for this adjustment are not well understood. Androgens are steroid hormones that are associated with parental care behaviours in many species including bluegill. Here, we test the hypothesis that circulating androgen concentrations mediate the adjustment in care provided by bluegill parental males by manipulating perceived paternity and then measuring circulating 11-ketotestosterone concentration and parental care behaviour. We show that males with higher perceived paternity provide higher levels of nurturing and nest defense behaviour, but contrary to expectations, we found that these males had lower concentrations of 11-ketotestosterone. Furthermore, we found positive correlations between individual circulating plasma 11-ketotestosterone concentrations and nurturing behaviour, but not with the aggressive behaviours that differed between paternity treatments. While bluegill make behavioural changes in response to perceived paternity, these changes do not appear to be modulated by 11-ketotestosterone.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Rosemary Knapp
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Bryan D Neff
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, Canada
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Barbasch TA, Branconi R, Francis R, Pacaro M, Srinivasan M, Jones GP, Buston PM. Negotiations over parental care: a test of alternative hypotheses in the clown anemonefish. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In species with biparental care, conflict arises over how much each parent provides to their offspring because both parents benefit from shifting the burden of care to the other. Here, we tested alternative hypotheses for how parents will negotiate offspring care using a wild population of clownfish (Amphiprion percula). We experimentally handicapped parents by fin-clipping the female in 23 groups, the male in 23 groups, and neither parent in 23 groups and measured changes in indicators of female, male, and pair effort in response to handicapping. First, we found that handicapping resulted in a decrease in the number of eggs laid by fin-clipped females and a decrease in the amount of parental care by fin-clipped males. Second, contrary to predictions, female effort did not change in response to the male being handicapped, or vice versa. Finally, the number of embryos that matured to hatching, an indicator of pair effort, was not influenced by the manipulation, suggesting that although the handicap was effective, clownfish do not face the predicted “cost to conflict” when one parent is handicapped. Together, these results test the generality of theoretical predictions and uncover novel questions about whether and how negotiations operate in systems where interests are aligned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina A Barbasch
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rebecca Branconi
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robin Francis
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Madison Pacaro
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maya Srinivasan
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Geoffrey P Jones
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Peter M Buston
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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