Spawning patterns in the three‐spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.): an evaluation by DNA fingerprinting

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Abstract
We analysed a random sample of 10 three‐spined stickleback nests by DNA fingerprinting. DNA from the guardian male and a random subsample of LO fry per nest were probed with pYNZ 132, a human single‐locus probe for VNTR‐loci (variable number of tandem repeats). On average this probe produced DNA fingerprints of 12 scoreable bands. By comparing the bands present in each individual, we calculated band sharing indices (BSIs) between the guardian male and its fry. The BSls varied between 0.40 and 0.77 with an average (± S.D.) of 0.59 ± 0.09. We therefore conclude that the guardian male was the true father of the fry in all these nests. Once the paternal bands in each fry were determined, we compared the maternal bands among the fry of each nest. Based on the BSIs obtained with these comparisons, we found that one guardian male enticed three females to spawn in its nest, six enticed two females and three enticed one female.