The European bitterling: a model for oviposition decision |
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Authors: | Smith C |
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Institution: | (School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, U.K.). |
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Abstract: | For oviparous species, oviposition decisions can have significant fitness consequences. The European bitterling ( Rhodeus sericeus ) is a cyprinid fish that lays its eggs on the gills of freshwater mussels. Because bitterling use a discrete spawning site that can be readily manipulated, they are unusually amenable to field and laboratory studies aimed at understanding the adaptiveness and consequences of oviposition decisions. Here I present data demonstrating the adaptiveness of oviposition decisions by female bitterling, and link these decisions, using game‐theory models, with bitterling population dynamics. I explain the proximate cues used by females in making oviposition choices, and how these respond to environmental variables. I also show how the oviposition decisions of males relate to the risk of sperm competition in mussels, and propose that oviposition choices may represent an inter‐sexual conflict in bitterling. Finally, I present behavioural and genetic data from mesocosm experiments to show the implications of global and local male densities for female oviposition opportunities, and consider the consequences for bitterling population dynamics. |
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