McKaye Kenneth R
Appalachian Environmental Laboratory, University of Maryland, Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies, Frostburg State College Campus-Gunter Hall, 21532, Frostburg, MD, USA.
Oecologia. 1985 Jun;66(3):358-363. doi: 10.1007/BF00378298.
Bagrid catfish and cichlid parents engage in a mutualistic defense of their young from predators. Over 50% of the catfish broods observed contained cichlid young, primarily of three species: Crytocara pleurostigmoides, C. pictus and Rhamphocromis sp. Three catfish broods, monitored for over 50 days, had a survivorship rate 6 times greater during periods when cichlids were present than when cichlids were absent. During two and a half h of observations of catfish broods without cichlids, I observed 23 strikes by predators on catfish young. However, when cichlids were present no foraging attacks were observed upon the catfish, but 32 occurred against cichlids in two and a half hours of observations. When the catfish parents were experimently removed the cichlid young were consumed first then the catfish young. When cichlids were present the catfish young survived over 80% longer than those in broods without cichlids. It is concluded that the parental catfish increase the survival of their own young be allowing cichlids into the brood. Because of an asymmetry of costs between the two species, cichlid mothers are more likely to abandon these interspecific broods than are the catfish.
鲇鱼和丽鱼科鱼类的亲鱼会共同保护它们的幼鱼免受捕食者侵害。观察到的超过50%的鲇鱼窝中有丽鱼科幼鱼，主要是三种丽鱼：侧纹隐丽鱼、图氏隐丽鱼和魣丽鱼属的一种。对三个鲇鱼窝进行了50多天的监测，结果发现，在丽鱼科鱼类存在期间，幼鱼的存活率比丽鱼科鱼类不存在时高出6倍。在对没有丽鱼科鱼类的鲇鱼窝进行的两个半小时的观察中，我观察到捕食者对鲇鱼幼鱼发动了23次攻击。然而，当有丽鱼科鱼类存在时，未观察到对鲇鱼的觅食攻击，但在两个半小时的观察中，对丽鱼科鱼类发生了32次攻击。当实验性地移除鲇鱼亲鱼时，丽鱼科幼鱼先被吃掉，然后是鲇鱼幼鱼。当有丽鱼科鱼类存在时，鲇鱼幼鱼的存活时间比没有丽鱼科鱼类的窝中的幼鱼长80%以上。得出的结论是，鲇鱼亲鱼通过允许丽鱼科鱼类进入鱼窝来提高自己幼鱼的存活率。由于这两个物种之间成本的不对称，丽鱼科鱼类的母鱼比鲇鱼更有可能放弃这些种间鱼窝。
