Nest predation has a large impact on reproductive success in many taxa. Defending offspring from would-be predators can also be energetically and physiologically costly for parents. Thus, to maximize their reproductive payoffs, individuals should adjust their reproductive behaviors in relation to the presence of nest predators. However, effects of nest predator presence on parental behaviors across multiple reproductive contexts remain poorly understood, particularly in non-avian taxa. We ran a series of experiments to test how the presence of an egg predator, the invasive rockpool shrimp, Palaemon elegans, influences male reproductive decisions and egg survival in a species of fish with exclusive paternal care, the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. We found that, in the presence of shrimp, male sticklebacks were less likely to build a nest, invested less in territory defense against an intruder, and tended to fan eggs in their nest less and in shorter bouts, but did not alter their investment in courtship behavior. The predator’s presence also did not affect egg survival rates, suggesting that males effectively defended their brood from the shrimp. These results show that reproducing individuals can be highly responsive to the presence of nest predators and adjust their behavioral decisions accordingly across a suite of reproductive contexts.

中文翻译：

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引入巢穴捕食者的雄性生殖调整

巢捕食对许多分类群的繁殖成功有很大影响。保护后代免受潜在捕食者的侵害，对父母来说也可能在精力和生理上付出高昂的代价。因此，为了最大化他们的繁殖收益，个体应该根据巢穴捕食者的存在来调整他们的繁殖行为。然而，巢捕食者的存在对多种生殖环境中父母行为的影响仍然知之甚少，尤其是在非鸟类类群中。我们进行了一系列实验，以测试卵捕食者、侵入性岩池虾、线虫的存在如何影响雄性生殖决定和卵子生存，这些鱼类具有专属的父权照顾，三刺棘鱼，Gasterosteus aculeatus。我们发现，在有虾的情况下，雄性棘鱼不太可能筑巢，在防御入侵者的领土防御方面投入较少，并且倾向于在巢中较少和较短的回合中扇蛋，但并未改变它们对求偶行为的投资。捕食者的存在也不会影响卵子的存活率，这表明雄性有效地保护了它们的巢穴免受虾的侵害。这些结果表明，繁殖个体可以对巢穴捕食者的存在高度敏感，并在一系列繁殖环境中相应地调整他们的行为决定。这表明雄性有效地保护了自己的后代免受虾的侵害。这些结果表明，繁殖个体可以对巢穴捕食者的存在高度敏感，并在一系列繁殖环境中相应地调整他们的行为决定。这表明雄性有效地保护了自己的后代免受虾的侵害。这些结果表明，繁殖个体可以对巢穴捕食者的存在高度敏感，并在一系列繁殖环境中相应地调整他们的行为决定。