Kvarnemo C, Svensson O, Forsgren E
Department of Zoology, Uppsala University
Anim Behav. 1998 Nov;56(5):1285-1290. doi: 10.1006/anbe.1998.0899.
In the common goby, Pomatoschistus microps (Pisces, Gobiidae), males build nests under mussel shells where they care for the eggs until hatching. To investigate why male common gobies cannibalize their own eggs (filial cannibalism), we conducted a feeding experiment. Males given little food ate from their eggs more often than males given food in excess. However, males given mussel meat in excess did not eat more of their eggs than males fed with both mussel meat in excess and goby eggs. This may suggest that male common gobies cannibalize their eggs to obtain energy rather than essential nutrients lacking in other diets. Moreover, males ate their whole clutch if it was exceptionally small regardless of food treatment, suggesting that males stop investing in their clutch if its reproductive value is less than the cost of guarding it. Thus, whole clutch cannibalism and partial clutch cannibalism seem to be governed by different factors. Furthermore, poorly built nests were associated with starved males, suggesting that nest concealing is costly. There was an association between how well the nest was built and partial clutch filial cannibalism, suggesting that the appearance of the nest may indicate the condition of the male, and thus the risk of filial cannibalism. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
在普通虾虎鱼（Pomatoschistus microps，属于鱼类，虾虎鱼科）中，雄性会在贻贝壳下筑巢，并在巢中照顾鱼卵直至孵化。为了探究雄性普通虾虎鱼为何会吃掉自己的卵（子代相残行为），我们进行了一项喂食实验。食物匮乏的雄性比食物充足的雄性更频繁地吃掉自己的卵。然而，与既被投喂过量贻贝肉又被投喂虾虎鱼卵的雄性相比，仅被投喂过量贻贝肉的雄性并没有吃掉更多自己的卵。这可能表明，雄性普通虾虎鱼吃掉自己的卵是为了获取能量，而非获取其他食物中缺乏的必需营养物质。此外，无论食物处理情况如何，如果卵的数量异常少，雄性会吃掉整个卵块，这表明如果卵的繁殖价值低于守护它的成本，雄性就会停止对卵块的投入。因此，整个卵块被吃掉和部分卵块被吃掉似乎受不同因素的影响。此外，建造得较差的巢穴与饥饿的雄性有关，这表明巢穴的隐蔽性是有成本的。巢穴建造的好坏与部分卵块的子代相残行为之间存在关联，这表明巢穴的外观可能表明雄性的状况，进而表明子代相残的风险。版权所有1998动物行为研究协会。
