Nocturnal spawning as a way to avoid egg exposure to diurnal predators

Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 18;8(1):15377. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33615-4.

Abstract

Animals that do not provide parental care have to secure the survival of their offspring by ensuring a safe reproductive environment or smart timing tactics. Nocturnal spawning behaviour of many fish species is an example of the latter behaviour in the animal kingdom and is hypothesized to provide a survival advantage to the eggs spawned during the night. In order to test the efficiency of the smart timing tactics in a freshwater fish, a study was carried out of the interaction of the rheophilic spawner (asp Leuciscus aspius) and the predator of its drifting eggs (bleak Alburnus alburnus) using passive telemetry. According to a model based on acquired data, asp laid 63% of its eggs at night, while vision-oriented bleak was present in 92% of the time during the day. This study gives support to the predator avoidance hypothesis, which expects animals to reproduce in a period when the probability of offspring predation is at its lowest.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Avoidance Learning*
  • Circadian Rhythm*
  • Cyprinidae / growth & development
  • Cyprinidae / physiology*
  • Eggs
  • Food Chain
  • Predatory Behavior*
  • Reproduction*