Resource attractiveness of the male beaugregory damselfish and his decision to court or defend

Santangelo, Nicholas; Itzkowitz, Murray; Richter, Martin L.; Haley, Michael P.

doi:10.1093/beheco/13.5.676

Cited by 35 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The occurrence of S. variabilis in the Mediterranean Sea must be closely traced, as the damselfish of the genus Stegastes are considered to be among the most aggressive and highly territorial benthic feeders (Letourneur et al, 1997;Santangelo et al, 2002;Osório et al, 2006;Hutchings et al, 2008;Steele et al, 2010), and show to have significant impact on coral community structure and algal assemblages (Gobler et al, 2006), increasing the algal biomass and productivity of reef systems (Hinds & Ballantine, 1987;Ferreira et al, 1998;Ceccarelli, 2007), and thus have a potential of altering the ecosystems which they inhabit. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and genetic barcoding study confirming the first Stegastes variabilis (Castelnau, 1855) report in the Mediterranean Sea

2015

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This paper presents morphometric and genetic barcoding analyses of the first record of the Cocoa Damselfish, Stegastes variabilis in the Mediterranean Sea. A single specimen was captured from Senglea waterfront, Malta (Central Mediterranean) on the 15 th of September 2013. The species is non-indigenous in the Mediterranean, as it is native to the tropical Western Atlantic. Apart from undertaking identification through meristics and morphometric measurements of the specimen, genetic analyses of the 3410 bp mtDNA genes were carried out to confirm the species' identity. The latter was useful given that the genus Stegastes is known to be composed of morphologically very similar species, with variable colour patterns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and genetic barcoding study confirming the first Stegastes variabilis (Castelnau, 1855) report in the Mediterranean Sea

2015

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“…Here, territory quality was standardized by providing males with artificial nest sites made of four 25.5 cm length PVC tubes (7.62 cm in diameter) attached in a 'C' design to a plastic base. These artificial sites are known to create high-quality territories for beaugregory damselfish (Itzkowitz 1991; also see Itzkowtiz & Haley 1999;Santangelo et al 2002) and hence, they will naturally exhibit high levels of aggression. Experiments were carried out in Pigeon Key, Florida in July 2004 and May 2005.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is the common method for assessing damselfish aggression levels (e.g. Santangelo et al 2002;Cleveland et al 2003). Bottled intruders were other territorial males within the same community.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into neuropeptide modulation of aggression: field studies of arginine vasotocin in a territorial tropical damselfish

2006

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The neuropeptides arginine vasotocin (AVT) and arginine vasopressin are key modulators of affiliation and aggression among non-mammalian and mammalian vertebrates, respectively. Here, we explored AVT's effect on aggression in a wild population of beaugregory damselfish, Stegastes leucostictus, a highly territorial species. Aggression by territorial males towards 'intruders' (bottled fishes) was assessed before and after each male received intramuscular injections of either AVT, Manning compound (an AVT V1a receptor antagonist), isotocin (the teleost homologue of mammalian oxytocin differing from AVT by two amino acids) or saline (vehicle control). Compared to saline controls, AVTand Manning increased and decreased aggression, respectively, while isotocin had no effect. Response selectivity was further established in a dose-response study that revealed an inverted U-shaped function. Compared to saline controls, aggression levels for low and high AVT doses were similar, while medium dose treatments were significantly greater. This type of behavioural response, the first that we know of for a vertebrate neuropeptide, could depend on the binding of AVT to both V1-type and other AVTor non-AVT receptors. The pattern revealed here for damselfish may be symptomatic of species-and context-dependent specificity of AVT's modulation of aggression across teleosts, as is currently proposed for tetrapods.

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“…After females spawn, the male is left to defend the eggs from predation. Males also defend territories from conspecific and heterospecific intruders (Santangelo et al 2002).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment and decision-making in a Caribbean damselfish: nest-site quality influences prioritization of courtship and brood defence

et al. 2009

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In systems where territory quality varies, animals are expected to exhibit plasticity in behaviour in order to maximize fitness relative to their present territory quality. This requires assessment of territory quality followed by decision-making in relation to the priority of activities necessary for survival and reproduction. We examined how differences in territory quality of beaugregory damselfish (Stegastes leucostictus) influence the prioritization of courtship and egg defence by comparing behavioural responses of males defending artificial sites (high quality) with males defending natural sites (low quality) when presented with an egg predator, a conspecific female, and a simultaneous choice between both. A significant three-way interaction of territory quality, presentation type and stimulus was observed for time near stimuli. In paired presentations, males defending low-quality territories spent more time near a female and less near an egg predator; while males on high-quality territories spent more time near a predator than a female. Additionally, comparing single and paired presentations reveals that behaviours towards egg predators remain constant while behaviours towards females decrease with paired stimuli. These data suggest that territory quality and ecological context impact decision-making and the relative values of potential reproduction and/or past reproductive effort.

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Resource attractiveness of the male beaugregory damselfish and his decision to court or defend

Cited by 35 publications

References 36 publications

Morphological and genetic barcoding study confirming the first Stegastes variabilis (Castelnau, 1855) report in the Mediterranean Sea

Morphological and genetic barcoding study confirming the first Stegastes variabilis (Castelnau, 1855) report in the Mediterranean Sea

New insights into neuropeptide modulation of aggression: field studies of arginine vasotocin in a territorial tropical damselfish

Assessment and decision-making in a Caribbean damselfish: nest-site quality influences prioritization of courtship and brood defence

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