Meeting Abstract
One of the most important decisions many animals face in their lifetime is determining where to raise their offspring. For egg laying species, this involves selecting a nest site that is secure with appropriate resources. Within monogamous species, nest site selection can be decided collaboratively or one sex may have more influence over the process. For convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata), our preliminary research has shown that when acclimated to equivalent nest sites, females tend to demonstrate a stronger preference for their own nest than males. In this follow-up experiment, we explored the effect of nest site quality on nest site selection. Specifically, we sought to determine if improving a male’s nest site (adding artificial plants) or reducing the quality of a female’s nest site (adding an intruder) would influence the nest selection process in a pair. We hypothesized that females would have less of a preference for their nest site when the quality of a male’s nest is increased, or when their own nest site quality is reduced. Our results support the latter, but not the first part of our hypothesis. In the first treatment, females showed a non-significant decrease in their nest site preference and an increase in preference for the male nest site. In the second treatment, females showed a significant decrease in their nest site preference and an increase in preference for the male’s nest site. These results suggest that altering environmental factors can influence the nest site selection process in monogamous animals after pair-bond formation.
