Parasites make male pipefish careless

Careless talk costs grants

The editors of Current Biology really should be more careful; some contributors are in danger of giving the game away. Years of careful fostering of the idea that everything can be explained in terms of molecular genetics and structural biology — thus keeping many of us gainfully employed — may have been undermined by their careless revelations. The current ascendancy of these disciplines could...

Begging and cowbirds: brood parasites make hosts scream louder

Avian brood parasites have evolved striking begging ability that often allows them to prevail over the host progeny in competition for parental resources. Host young are therefore selected by brood parasites to evolve behavioral strategies that reduce the cost of parasitism. We tested the prediction that the intensity of nestling begging displays functioning to attract parental care increases a...

Effects of an environmental estrogen on male Gulf pipefish, Syngnathus scovelli (Evermann and Kendall), a male brooding teleost.

The Effects of Food Limitation on Life History Tradeoffs in Pregnant Male Gulf Pipefish

Syngnathid fishes (pipefishes, seahorses and seadragons) are characterized by a unique mode of paternal care in which embryos develop on or in the male's body, often within a structure known as a brood pouch. Evidence suggests that this pouch plays a role in mediating postcopulatory sexual selection and that males have some control over the events occurring within the pouch during the pregnancy...

Costs and Benefits to Pregnant Male Pipefish Caring for Broods of Different Sizes

Trade-offs between brood size and offspring size, offspring survival, parental condition or parental survival are classic assumptions in life history biology. A reduction in brood size may lessen these costs of care, but offspring mortality can also result in an energetic gain, if parents are able to utilize the nutrients from the demised young. Males of the broad-nosed pipefish (Syngnathus typ...