Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-1980

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.

Publisher

National Academy of Sciences

Volume

77

First Page

6937

Last Page

6940

Language (ISO)

English

Keywords

sexual selection, breeding systems, parental care, cuckoldry, frequency-dependent selection

Download

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS