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Early life-history features associated with brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus (Siluriformes: Mochokidae).

ABSTRACT: The cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus, is the only known obligate brood parasite among fishes, exploiting the parental care of mouthbrooding cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika. Comparisons of this system to brood parasitism in birds may reveal broader principles that underlie the evolution of this life-history strategy in vertebrates. However, little is known about the features of the cuckoo catfish that enable this species to successfully parasitize cichlids. Here, we examine early ontogeny of the cuckoo catfish and compare it to that of its cichlid hosts as well as a non-parasitic congener. We found that cuckoo catfish embryos develop and hatch in advance of host embryos, and begin feeding on cichlid young just as they start to hatch. Overall timing of ontogeny in the cuckoo catfish was found to be similar to that of the substrate-spawning congener Synodontis lucipinnis, suggesting that more rapid development of the cuckoo catfish relative to cichlids is not a unique adaptation to brood parasitism. However, we found that cuckoo catfish progeny exhibit extensive morphological differences from S. lucipinnis, which may represent adaptations to brood parasitism. These life-history observations reveal both similarities and differences between the cuckoo catfish system and brood parasitism in other lineages. This article is part of the theme issue 'The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'.

SUBMITTER: Cohen MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6388042 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Early life-history features associated with brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus (Siluriformes: Mochokidae).

Cohen Marcus S MS Hawkins M Brent MB Stock David W DW Cruz Alexander A

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences 20190401 1769

The cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus, is the only known obligate brood parasite among fishes, exploiting the parental care of mouthbrooding cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika. Comparisons of this system to brood parasitism in birds may reveal broader principles that underlie the evolution of this life-history strategy in vertebrates. However, little is known about the features of the cuckoo catfish that enable this species to successfully parasitize cichlids. Here, we examine early ont ...[more]

PMID: 30967083

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Project description:Animal migrations provide important ecological functions and can allow for increased biodiversity through habitat and niche diversification. However, aquatic migrations in general, and those of the world's largest fish in particular, are imperiled worldwide and are often poorly understood. Several species of large Amazonian catfish carry out some of the longest freshwater fish migrations in the world, travelling from the Amazon River estuary to the Andes foothills. These species are important apex predators in the main stem rivers of the Amazon Basin and make up the region's largest fishery. They are also the only species to utilize the entire Amazon Basin to complete their life cycle. Studies indicate both that the fisheries may be declining due to overfishing, and that the proposed and completed dams in their upstream range threaten spawning migrations. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about the details of these species' migrations, or their life history. Otolith microchemistry has been an effective method for quantifying and reconstructing fish migrations worldwide across multiple spatial scales and may provide a powerful tool to understand the movements of Amazonian migratory catfish. Our objective was to describe the migratory behaviors of the three most populous and commercially important migratory catfish species, Dourada (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii), Piramutaba (Brachyplatystoma vaillantii), and Piraíba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum). We collected fish from the mouth of the Amazon River and the Central Amazon and used strontium isotope signatures ((87)Sr/(86)Sr) recorded in their otoliths to determine the location of early rearing and subsequent. Fish location was determined through discriminant function classification, using water chemistry data from the literature as a training set. Where water chemistry data was unavailable, we successfully in predicted (87)Sr/(86)Sr isotope values using a regression-based approach that related the geology of the upstream watershed to the Sr isotope ratio. Our results provide the first reported otolith microchemical reconstruction of Brachyplatystoma migratory movements in the Amazon Basin. Our results indicate that juveniles exhibit diverse rearing strategies, rearing in both upstream and estuary environments. This contrasts with the prevailing understanding that juveniles rear in the estuary before migrating upstream; however, it is supported by some fisheries data that has indicated the presence of alternate spawning and rearing life-histories. The presence of alternate juvenile rearing strategies may have important implications for conservation and management of the fisheries in the region.

Dataset Information

Early life-history features associated with brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus (Siluriformes: Mochokidae).

Publications

Early life-history features associated with brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus (Siluriformes: Mochokidae).

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