Indirect consequences of parental care: sex differences in ectoparasite burden and cleaner-seeking activity in longfin damselfish

Abstract

Many direct costs of parental care have been described for teleost fishes, including reduced body weight, body fat and immune condition. However, few studies have focussed on the indirect consequences of reproduction. In this study, we investigated such consequences in the longfin damselfish Stegastes diencaeus (Jordan & Rutter), a territorial reef fish in which the males provide parental care of eggs. More specifically, we examined patterns of spatial distribution of males and females in relation to substratum suitability for the establishment of nest sites and the consequences of spatial distribution for ectoparasite burden and cleaner-seeking activity. The territories of males and females differed significantly in a number of habitat features. Breeding males, with a nest site present in their territory, were found mainly at the periphery of reef patches, near sand, where vertical substratum suitable for nest sites is present, whereas females and non-breeding males were found in the centre of patches. Cleaning stations occupied by the cleaning gobies Elacatinus evelynae and E. prochilos were also located in peripheral areas, thus, in general, breeding males were closer to cleaning stations than females. Damselfish that were closer to cleaning stations visited them more frequently. During nest-guarding periods, males visited cleaning stations less frequently than during non-guarding periods, but this was not concomitant with an increase in ectoparasite loads during nest-guarding periods. Damselfish in peripheral territories had significantly lower ectoparasite numbers than those situated in the centre of reef patches. These results are consistent with a lower exposure of peripheral damselfish to ectoparasites. These intersexual differences in territory position, proximity to and use of cleaning stations, and ectoparasite loads are indirect consequences of sex differences in reproductive-resource requirements. Such interactions between breeding systems, distributional ecology and other aspects of non-reproductive behaviour are undoubtedly widespread, and their consideration could enhance our general understanding of reef-fish ecology.

Compensatory cleaner-seeking behavior following spawning in female yellowtail damselfish

“…Our observations of compensatory cleaning during and immediately after spawning, along with relatively high (though marginally non-significant) rates of chases of heterospecifics near cleaning stations at dawn, suggests that dawn cleaning is important (Cheney & Côté 2003b). Unlike other activities, the time of spawning overlaps strongly with the dawn peak in visitations to cleaners.…”

“…For example, on the Great Barrier Reef, more highly parasitized species tend to spend more time with cleaners (Grutter 1995). In Barbados, the proportion of time spent with cleaners is positively correlated with sex-and location-dependent ectoparasite loads among individual yellowtail Microspathodon chrysurus and longfin Stegastes diencaeus damselfish, and negatively correlated with travel distance to cleaning stations in the latter species (Sikkel et al 2000, Cheney & Côté 2001, 2003b.…”

Temporal Variation in Cleanerfish and Client Behaviour: Does It Reflect Ectoparasite Availability?

“…Herbivores such as parrotfish, for example, often forage more actively from midday onward (Choat & Clements 1993) and could thus encounter cleaning stations more frequently later in the day. Many species providing parental care of eggs, such as damselfish, spawn early in the morning and thus decrease their morning use of cleaning stations during spawning periods (Cheney & Côté, in press). In addition, if predatory fish are more active in the morning, clients could shift their use of cleaning stations to later in the day according to risk of predation.…”

Female in-nest attendance predicts the number of ectoparasites in Darwin's finch species

“…The temporal window for ectoparasite oviposition behaviour can be influenced by parental care, which may alter the course of age-specific costs to offspring survival from ectoparasites. If temporal patterns of host parental care differ across the sexes—for example, in systems with uniparental male or female in-nest attendance—the threat of parasite oviposition may increase sex-specific costs of parental care to the attending parent [ 59 , 60 ]. In this study on Darwin's finches parasitized by P. downsi (Diptera: Muscidae), longer female brooding duration during the first days post-hatch was associated with fewer P. downsi.…”