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Group composition, relatedness, and dispersal in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus

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Abstract

Cooperative breeding has been studied intensively in many species of birds and mammals but remain less well studied in fish. We report a remarkable new example of a cooperatively breeding cichlid from Lake Tanganyika, Neolamprologus obscurus. Using field observations and microsatellite DNA analyses, we studied group structure, helping behavior, relatedness, and dispersal of this species. We present four major observations. First, large territorial breeding males mated with one to eight breeding females, each of which was territorial and unrelated to another. Second, one to ten smaller fish (“subordinates”) of both sexes were allowed to stay inside the breeding females’ territories. Subordinates were often highly related to both the respective breeding male and female and performed territory defense and shelter maintenance, which is regarded as helping behaviors. Third, one to three subordinate males, similar in size to breeding females, were allowed to stay inside a breeding male’s territory but were not tolerated in the breeding females’ territories. Pairwise relatedness suggests these individuals are usually sons of the respective breeding male. Fourth, pairwise relatedness estimates suggest that juveniles delay dispersal and assist their mothers in raising offspring. As female subordinates grow up, they leave the father’s territory and disperse into other groups. In contrast, male subordinates leave their mother’s territory but remain within the territory of their father. The described social system makes N. obscurus a promising new model species to study the evolution of cooperative breeding.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Tetsumi Takahashi, Kazutaka Ota, Haruki Ochi, Hiroki Hata, Michio Hori, and the staff of the Lake Tanganyika Research Unit, Mpulungu, Zambia, especially Harris Phiri, Danny Syniynza, Ruben Shapola, and Henry Simpembwa for supporting our studies at the field. We are grateful to Satoshi Nanami and Sho Furuichi for statistical discussions and Joachim Frommen and three anonymous referees for helpful comments on early versions of this manuscript. This work was financially supported by Grants-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, to MK.

Ethical standards

The research presented here was conducted with permission from the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and complies with current Zambian law. We treated fish in compliance with the guidelines of the Animal Care and Use Committee of Osaka City University, the Japan Ethological Society, and the Ichthyological Society of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Sumiyoshi, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan

    Hirokazu Tanaka, Tomohiro Takeyama & Masanori Kohda

  2. Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Trials Unit, University of Bern, Finkenhubelweg 11, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Dik Heg

  3. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan

    Hirohiko Takeshima & Mutsumi Nishida

  4. Sado Marine Biological Station, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, 87 Tassha, Sado, 952-2135, Japan

    Satoshi Awata

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  1. Hirokazu Tanaka
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  3. Hirohiko Takeshima
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Correspondence to Hirokazu Tanaka.

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Communicated by J. Frommen

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Tanaka, H., Heg, D., Takeshima, H. et al. Group composition, relatedness, and dispersal in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 69, 169–181 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1830-8

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