Abstract

When one of two parents disappears in the midst of caring for offspring, the remaining parent is left with several options. They can either (1) desert the brood, (2) continue caring on their own and reject propositions from new potential partners, or (3) continue caring but remain receptive to re-mating opportunities. The presence of a brood may increase re-mating success of single parents, either because brood care is perceived as a signal of partner quality, or because prospective mates perceive the brood as potential energy source. In this field experiment, we used the socially monogamous, biparental cichlid fish Variabilichromis moorii to examine the re-mating strategy of males with or without dependent offspring after the loss of their female partner. Partner vacancies were filled quickly by new females, and these females engaged in high levels of affiliative behavior with the males. The new females engaged in territorial defense, but focused primarily against intruding conspecifics, likely as a means to repel rivals. The males, in turn, took over the majority of territorial defense against intruding heterospecifics. Interestingly, males that still had offspring from their previous partnerships did not show aggression toward their new female partners, even when those females were infanticidal and cannibalizing the males' current offspring. Overall, our experiment shows that single fathers of a biparental species will re-mate quickly even at the detriment to their current offspring.Lay Summary When a parent disappears while caring for young, the remaining parent is left with a difficult decision: namely, how to balance continued care for their offspring with obtaining a new reproductive partner. We tested how males of a biparental cichlid react when they experimentally separated from their partner, with or without their offspring. Males accepted new females quickly regardless of offspring presence and even allowed the females to cannibalize the brood.

Keywords

infanticide; paternal care; pair-bonding; partner loss; re-mating; Variabilichromis moorii

Published in

Behavioral Ecology
2023, Volume: 34, number: 5, pages: 881-890
Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC

UKÄ Subject classification

Zoology
Behavioral Sciences Biology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad045

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/122839