Abstract

The spawning behaviour of dwarf and normal arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, was studied through trough observations in October 1988. The experimental fish consisted of reared, three-summer old progeny of artificially bred dwarf and normal charr from an isolated body of water in central Sweden. The spawning behaviour of three normal female charrs was studied and video-recorded. The study showed that the arctic charr is potentially polyandric both within and between forms. The normal female was courted and mated both by normal and dwarf males. It was also noted that antagonistic behaviour on behalf of the female was much more common towards dwarf males than normal males. Guarding tactics were only observed in normal males, whereas sneaking tactics were employed both by dwarf and normal males. The dwarf as well as normal males mated the female charr either by courting the female or by joining the spawning fish at oviposition. Only dwarf males were observed resting silently on the bottom close to the redd.

Keywords

POLYANDRY; MALE SPAWNING TACTICS; INTERACTIONS; SALMONID

Published in

Environmental Biology of Fishes
1992, volume: 33, number: 3, pages: 293-298
Publisher: KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBL

Authors' information