assoc prof alison king - charles darwin university · parental care in fishes •most fish...
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EHSE SPG| 14 March 2016 | Slide 1
Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods
Do fish vary their levels of parental care according to environmental
conditions?
Assoc Prof Alison King
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Do fish vary their level of parental care according to environmental
conditions?
Assoc. Prof. Alison King & Prof. Jane Hughes
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Parental care in fishes• Most fish broadcast their eggs
– No parental care
• Parental care
• PC increases offspring fitness & survival, but costs parental investment in other offspring (& themselves)
• PC investment may not be fixed, vary amount of PC– environmental condition,
– parents’ condition,
– and health of their young (Wootton and Smith 2015)
Guarding External bearing Internal bearing
Eggs
Southern pygmy perch (Photo: Hammer) Nursery fish (Figure: Berra) Poecilia reticulata(http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Fish)
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P.C. in Nthn Aust. freshwater fishes• Parental care unusually common N. A. fishes
– ~40%, compared to ~25% fish worldwide– Very little known life history
• Do P.C. fishes vary level of investment?– Environments Hyp: fish in riskier, ephemeral env’s have more eggs
– Determine their brood success (choose young)Hyp: fish in riskier, ephemeral env’s choose fittest young
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Mouth almighty (Glossamia aprion)• Common, widespread, full range of habitats
• Male mouth broods eggs
• Kakadu billabongs (Bishop et al. 2001)
– ~300 eggs (n=3)
• Daly River (King pers. Obs).
– ~30 eggs (n=20)
• Marine relative ‘collects fitter’ young from multiple females
Specific Aims:(i) Whether egg number & quality are
higher in riskier, ephemeral habitats
(ii) Parentage pattern (Number of mums and dads to a clutch) varies across habitats
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MethodsGenetics
• Genomic library needed
• Successfully developed primers 12 microsatellite loci; good to
excellent discrimination
• Paternity and maternity of each individual egg
Field collection
• Sampled mid-Daly River; Sept – Nov 2015River (8 sites) Billabongs (2 sites)
Ephemeral tributaries (3 sites)
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Results: Field collection FAILED !• Many sites dry
• Already bred !
– Even in perennial
• Bred earlier - because it was such a dry year
• Only 1 mouth brooding male
• Pool in Ferguson River, ephemeral
• ~150 eggs
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Conclusion• Continue into 2016 dry season
• So far, pattern still holding– >r eggs in riskier, ephemeral habitats
– ? Parentage patterns yet ?
• Important inclusion for ARC LP– Variability of life history traits in freshwater fishes across
hydrological conditions