Reproductive Behaviour of the Blackspotted Stickleback, Gasterosteus wheatlandi

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Abstract
The reproductive biology of the blackspotted stickleback (Gasterosteus wheatlandi) closely parallels that reported elsewhere for G. aculeatus, with certain noteworthy exceptions. Gasterosteus wheatlandi nests in brackish water of low salinity rather than in fresh water. The mature males are gold on the dorsal and lateral surfaces and white on the ventral surface with an irregular series of black spots along the ventro-lateral surfaces of the tail stalk, in contrast to the blue and red highlights of mature colouration in G. aculeatus males. There are marked differences also in the behaviour by which males of the two species lead females to the nest. In the blackspotted stickleback leading consists in an intricate series of movements along the substrate, the male in a head-down position and quivering, the female in a head-up posture with her snout touching the male between his pelvic spines; in contrast, G. aculeatus males simply swim to the nest entrance, the female following with no physical contact. Reproductive isolation between the two species probably depends on breeding habitat separation and female recognition of species-specific male colour patterns. When these fail, incompatible leading behaviours constitute an effective block to interspecific hybridization. Parental fanning in G. wheatlandi resembles that in G. aculeatus except that average bout duration is substantially less. Vertical quivering, a post-spawning activity of unknown function, is unique to G. wheatlandi.

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