Summary
Although it is generally agreed that humans can be spiteful, there are few if any, unambiguous examples of spite by non-human animals. Data are presented suggesting that female threespine sticklebacks show spiteful behaviour. In the field, they seek out conspecific eggs to attack while largely ignoring those of a closely-related sympatric species, the blackspotted stickleback. This occurs despite the fact that the latter's nests are more abundant and less well protected. In the laboratory, female threespine sticklebacks attack the eggs of conspecifics more than those of blackspotted sticklebacks, those of sympatric conspecific females more than those of allopatric females, and older eggs more than younger ones. Because there was no evidence of greater energetic or nutritional advantages from eating conspecific rather than heterospecific eggs, or older eggs rather than younger ones, threespine sticklebacks may be spiteful. Alternative proximate and evolutionary hypotheses to explain this discriminant egg-eating are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Baur B (1988) Egg-species recognition in cannibalistic hatchlings of the land snail Arianta arbustorum and Helix pomatia. Experientia 44:276–277
Belles-Isles J-C, FitzGerald GJ (in press) A fitness advantage of cannibalism in threespine sticklebacks. Ethol Ecol Evol
Belles-Isles J-C, Cloutier D, FitzGerald GJ (1990) Female cannibalism and male courtship tactics in threespine sticklebacks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 26:363–368
Black D, Love RM (1988) Estimating the carbohydrate reserves in fish. J Fish Biol 32:335–340
Bolduc F, FitzGerald GJ (1989) The role of selected environmental factors and sex ratio upon egg production in the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Can J Zool 67:2013–2020
Boulé V, FitzGerald GJ (1989) Effects of constant and fluctuating temperatures on egg production in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Can J Zool 67:1599–1602
DeMartini EE (1987) Parental defence, cannibalism, and polygamy: factors influencing reproductive success in painted greenlings (Pisces: Hexagrammidae). Anim Behav 35:1145–1158
Fisher RA (1930) The genetical theory of natural selection. Clarendon Press, Oxford
FitzGerald GJ (1983) The reproductive ecology and behavior of three sympatric sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae) in a saltmarsh. Biol Behav 8:67–79
FitzGerald GJ (1991) The role of cannibalism in the reproductive ecology of the threespine stickleback. Ethology 89:177–194
FitzGerald GJ, van Havre N (1987) The adaptive significance of cannibalism in sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae: Pisces). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 20:295–300
FitzGerald GJ, Whoriskey FG (1992) Empirical studies of cannibalism in fishes. In: Elgar MA, Crespi BJ (eds) Cannibalism: ecology and evolution among diverse taxa. Oxford University Press, Oxford New York Tokyo, pp 239–256
FitzGerald GJ, Whoriskey FG, Morrissette J, Marding M (in press) Habitat scale, female cannibalism, and male reproductive success in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Behav Ecol (in press)
Fox L (1975) Cannibalism in natural populations. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 6:87–106
Gaudreault A, FitzGerald GJ (1985) Field observations of intraspecific and interspecific aggression among sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae). Behaviour 94:203–211
Gilbert SF (1985) Developmental biology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, USA
Hamilton WD (1970) Selfish and spiteful behaviour in an evolutionary model. Nature 228:1218–1220
Hamilton WD (1971) Selection of selfish and altruistic behavior in some extreme models. In: Eisenberg JF, Dillon WS (eds) Man and beast: comparative social behavior. Smithsonian Press, Washington, DC, pp 57–91
Hausfater G, Blaffer-Hrdy S (eds) (1984) Infanticide: Comparative and evolutionary perspective. Aldine Publishing Co, Chicago
Hislop JRG, Bell MA (1987) Observations on the size, dry weight and energy content of the eggs of some demersal fish species from British marine waters. J Fish Biol 31:1–20
Knowlton N, Parker GA (1979) An evolutionary stable strategy approach to indiscriminate spite. Nature 279:419–421
Kynard BE (1979) Breeding behaviour of a lacustrine population of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.). Behaviour 67:178–207
Nikolsky GV (1963) The ecology of fishes. Academic Press Inc, London
Pierotti R (1980) Spite and altruism in gulls. Am Nat 117:290–300
Pierotti R (1982) Spite, altruism, and semantics: a reply to Waltz. Am Nat 119:116–120
Polis GA (1981) The evolution and dynamics of intraspecific predation. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 12:225–251
Polis GA (1988) Exploitation competition and the evolution of interference, cannibalism, and intraguild predation in age/size-structured populations. In: Ebenman B, Persson L (eds) Size-structured populations. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 185–202
Rothstein SI (1979) Gene frequencies and selection for inhibitory traits with special emphasis on the adaptiveness of territoriality. Am Nat 113:317–331
Scrimshaw NS (1945) Embryonic development in poeciliid fishes. Biol Bull 88:233–246
Smith R, Whoriskey FG (1988) Multiple clutches: female sticklebacks lose the ability to recognize their own eggs. Anim Behav 36:1838–1839
Trivers RL (1985) Social evolution. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company Inc, Menlo Park, California
Vickery WL, Whoriskey FG, FitzGerald GJ (1988) On the evolution of nest-raiding and male defensive behaviour in sticklebacks (Pisces: Gasterosteidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 22:185–193
Waltz EC (1981) Reciprocal altruism and spite in gulls: a comment. Am Nat 118:588–592
Whoriskey FG (1984) Le rôle de facteurs choisis: biotiques et abiotiques dans la structuration d'une communauté d'épinoches (Pisces: Gasterosteidae). PhD thesis, Laval University, Canada Whoriskey FG, FitzGerald GJ (1985a) Sex, cannibalism and sticklebacks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18:15–18
Whoriskey FG, FitzGerald GJ (1985b) The effects of bird predation upon an estuarine stickleback (Pisces: Gasterosteidae) community. Can J Zool 63, 301–307
Wilson EO (1975) Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, USA
Wootton RJ (1976) The biology of the sticklebacks. Academic Press, London
Wootton RJ (1990) The ecology of teleost fish. Chapman and Hall, London
Worgan JP, FitzGerald GJ (1981) Diel activity and diet of three sympatric sticklebacks in tidal salt marsh pools. Can J Zool 59:2375–2379
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FitzGerald, G.J. Egg cannibalism by sticklebacks: spite or selfishness?. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 30, 201–206 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00166704
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00166704