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Abstract

The cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) from Lake Tanganyika in AfricaÌýparasitizes mouth-brooding cichlid fishes (catfish eggs get picked up and incubated in theÌýmouths of cichlid females, where the catfish young feed on cichlid eggs). I examined theÌýimpact of parasitism by the cuckoo catfish on an allopatric (not naturally co-occurring)Ìýmouthbrooding cichlid, the red zebra (Maylandia estherae) relative to that of a previously characterized sympatric (naturally co-occurring with the parasite) host species (°ä³Ù±ð²Ô´Ç³¦³ó°ù´Ç³¾¾±²õÌý³ó´Ç°ù±ð¾±). The red zebra was parasitized significantly more than the sympatric C. horei,Ìýwhich suggests that the sympatric host has evolved strategies to minimize cuckoo catfishÌýparasitism. Early development of the red zebra did not differ significantly from that of the °ä.Ìý³ó´Ç°ù±ð¾±, indicating no early developmental adaptations to deter the catfish young from eating theÌýhost young. While the courtship behaviors of C. horei were also similar to that of the red zebra,ÌýC. horei was clearly more aggressive, which may be an adaptation to avoid brood parasitism. IÌýalso examined levels of parasitism between the red zebra and a closely related, also sympatricÌýalbino zebra cichlid (Maylandia zebra). Due possibly to its lower visual acuity, the albinoÌýzebra morph was parasitized significantly more than the red zebra. Lastly, the catfish wasÌýfound not to parasitize hosts at random, but to prefer to parasitize female cichlids of anÌýintermediate size.