Rueger Theresa, Gardiner Naomi M, Jones Geoffrey P
College of Marine and Environmental Science, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
College of Marine and Environmental Science, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
Behav Processes. 2014 Sep;107:119-26. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.07.015. Epub 2014 Aug 4.
Coral reef fishes are characterised by extreme site fidelity and are often socially monogamous, forming pair bonds within larger social groups. Despite this, the strong link between reproductive behaviour and site fidelity in such social species is poorly understood. We examine these relationships in the cardinalfish Ostorhinchus cyanosoma on the central Great Barrier Reef. We tagged and followed over 100 individuals for 5 weeks to investigate pair fidelity, and behavioural differences between pairs and singles and between sexes, and we experimentally tested the strength of site and mate fidelity. Tagged pairs were typically highly site attached, and lasted throughout the study period. Sex had very little effect on pairing behaviour or habitat use. Paired individuals showed three times higher site fidelity than single ones, with singles frequently relocating. There was a two-fold increase in the movement of individuals that had their partners experimentally removed. Paired individuals exhibited greater homing success, and homed regardless of whether their mate had been displaced with them or was left on the home site. These results suggest that individuals of this species form at least seasonally stable monogamous pair bonds within larger groups, and that pair formation is closely associated with site fidelity.
珊瑚礁鱼类的特点是对特定地点极度忠诚，并且通常在社会层面上实行一夫一妻制，即在较大的社会群体中形成配对关系。尽管如此，在这类社会性物种中，繁殖行为与地点忠诚度之间的紧密联系却鲜为人知。我们在大堡礁中部对金鳞鱼（Ostorhinchus cyanosoma）进行了这些关系的研究。我们给100多个个体做了标记并跟踪了5周，以调查配对忠诚度、配对个体与单独个体之间以及不同性别之间的行为差异，并且我们通过实验测试了地点忠诚度和配偶忠诚度的强度。做了标记的配对个体通常对特定地点高度依恋，并且在整个研究期间都保持在一起。性别对配对行为或栖息地利用的影响很小。配对个体的地点忠诚度是单独个体的三倍，单独个体经常迁移。当实验性地移除其配偶时，个体的移动增加了两倍。配对个体表现出更高的归巢成功率，并且无论其配偶是与它们一起被转移还是留在原栖息地，它们都会归巢。这些结果表明，该物种的个体在较大群体中至少形成季节性稳定的一夫一妻制配对关系，并且配对形成与地点忠诚度密切相关。
