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Flow regime affects building behaviour and nest structure in sticklebacks

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Abstract

Animals usually build nests to provide protection, for themselves or their offspring, from adverse environmental conditions. However, different nest structures may be better at providing protection in different environments. The ability to adjust building behaviour and design of nests in response to variation in environmental conditions is therefore likely to be important in determining individual fitness. Here, we look at how the nests of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) males differ between still and flowing water conditions. Within flowing water treatments, we find that males select nesting sites with lower than average flow. We also find that nests built in flowing water are smaller and more streamlined than those built in still water. Nests built in flowing water contain more spiggin—an endogenous glycoprotein secreted by nesting males—per gramme of nest material than still water nests, though the absolute spiggin content of nests did not vary with flow regime. These results suggest that male sticklebacks may adjust nest-site selection and nest structure to suit environmental conditions in which they are building. Because flow regime is a factor that is often altered by anthropogenic activities, such as impoundment, channelization and abstraction, this study may also have implications for the conservation of freshwater fish populations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Rory Geoghegan and Gareth Owen for technical assistance. We acknowledge the support of the Natural Environment Research Council via a studentship to BJR (NER/S/A/2003/11389) and a research grant to IB (NE/F019440/1). We are grateful to Kai Lindström and two anonymous referees for constructive comments on our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK

    Ben J. Rushbrook & Iain Barber

  2. Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Adrian Building, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    Megan L. Head & Iain Barber

  3. Cefas Weymouth Laboratory, Weymouth, UK

    Ioanna Katsiadaki

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  1. Ben J. Rushbrook
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  2. Megan L. Head
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  4. Iain Barber
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Correspondence to Iain Barber.

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Communicated by K. Lindström

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Rushbrook, B.J., Head, M.L., Katsiadaki, I. et al. Flow regime affects building behaviour and nest structure in sticklebacks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64, 1927–1935 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1003-3

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