Past reproductive effort affects parental behaviour in a cichlid fish,Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum: a comparison of inexperienced and experienced breeders with normal and experimentally reduced broods

Defensive and parental care behaviour of convict cichlids that differed in past effort was compared. Before testing, some fish were bred three times while others were not bred. Age was held constant; all individuals in this study were approximately 20 months old (±2 months) at test time. Furthermore, half of the pairs in this study had their broods experimentally reduced by 50%. Results indicated that past effort across breeding attempts affects investment in the current brood. Experienced pairs were more aggressive toward a model predator than inexperienced parents. However, no major differences were observed in depreciable care (i.e. fanning). Contrary to previous studies, brood size had minor effects on parental care. This discrepancy could be due to the age of the parents; individuals in this study were significantly older than fish tested in previous studies. The results support parental investment theory and suggest that past effort is not only important within breeding episodes but also within an animal's lifetime.