High frequency of multiple paternity in broods of a socially monogamous cichlid fish with biparental nest defence

Abstract

In several animal taxa, genetic analyses have demonstrated that social monogamy and biparental brood care do not preclude polygamous reproduction. Few studies have been conducted in fish, but in fish species without alternative reproductive phenotypes, social monogamy was largely congruent with genetic parentage. In contrast to these findings, we report an exceptionally high level of multiple paternity in a socially monogamous cichlid fish with biparental nest defence (Variabilichromis moorii), inferred from microsatellite and mitochondrial data of 10 broods. Whereas all offspring in a nest shared a common mother, each brood was sired by 2 to > 10 males. None of the inferred sires was assigned a large proportion of the brood. Paternity was estimated as the minimum number of sires required to explain multilocus offspring genotypes, and as the maximum-likelihood number of sires given population allele frequencies. Analysis of simulated brood genotypes suggested that, although these two methods tend to under- and overestimate, respectively, the true number of sires, primary sires with many offspring in a brood would have been detected. Hence, the genetic data indicate that the nest tending males suffer substantial cuckoldry and provide alloparental care for a large number of unrelated fry. We have no data on the social status of the cuckolding males, but due to synchronous spawning of pairs and commitment to brood care of paired males, it is possible that most of the parasitic spawners are solitary males.

Variance in the reproductive success of flat oysterOstrea edulisL. assessed by parentage analyses in natural and experimental conditions

“…2 NS systems and the evaluation of patterns and determinants of reproductive success in aquatic organisms. Genetic methods have recently added much insight into the reproductive and parental care behaviour of several fish species by analysing the genetic parentage of broods collected in nature (Sefc et al, 2008;Tatarenkov et al, 2008;Byrne & Avise, 2009). Moreover, genetic parentage analyses have been employed to gain a better understanding of the spawning behaviour and reproductive dynamics of captive fish broodstock held in commercial breeding tanks (Jeong et al, 2007 ;Herlin et al, 2008 ;Blonk et al, 2009).…”

Evidence of polygamy in the socially monogamous Amazonian fish Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822) (Osteoglossiformes, Arapaimidae)

“…There are many cases where apparently monogamous species in fact show high incidences of extra-pair mating, and thus levels of polygamy are high across a broad taxonomic range (Goossens et al, 1998;Liebgold et al, 2006;Ophir et al, 2008;Sefc et al, 2008).…”

Same school, different conduct: rates of multiple paternity vary within a mixed‐species breeding school of semi‐pelagic cichlid fish (Cyprichromisspp.)

“…2015), whereas other socially monogamous substrate spawners with biparental nest defense showed a high level of multiple paternity (Sunobe and Munehara 2003; Sefc et al. 2008). Rates of multiple paternity vary widely among polygynous mouthbrooding species (Kellogg et al.…”