Interspecific Brood Care in Fishes: Reciprocal Altruism or Mistaken Identity?

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Abstract
It was quite possible that competition between 2 herbivores Cichlasoma nicaraguense and C. dovii observed in Laguna de Jiloa, Nicaragua and its resultant altruism on the part of C. nicaraguense might be a case of an altruist affecting the relative numbers of predators and competitors within a community. The altruistic behavior might have been simply a case of mistaken identity because adult fishes might have lacked the ability to distinguish the juveniles of the 2 spp. The C. nicaraguense altruists might have been in a reproductive condition to brood and, having lost their own broods or having failed to find mates or nesting sites, they might brood another fish''s young. Any factor which promotes reproductive failure might increase the incidence of interspecific brood care.

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