Spawn (biology) - Spawning Strategies - Guarders

Guarders

Guarders: Substrate spawners
  • Rock tenders
  • Plant tenders
  • Terrestrial tenders
  • Pelagic tenders
Guarders: Nest spawners
  • Rock and gravel nesters
  • Sand nesters
  • Plant-material nesters
    • Gluemakers
    • Nongluemakers
  • Bubble nesters
  • Hole nesters
  • Misc-materials nesters
  • Anemone nesters

Guarders protect their eggs and offspring after spawning by practicing parental care (also called brood care). Parental care is an "investment by parents in offspring that increases the offsprings' chances of surviving (and hence reproducing). In fish, parental care can take a variety of forms including guarding, nest building, fanning, splashing, removal of dead eggs, retrieval of straying fry, external egg carrying, egg burying, moving eggs or young, ectodermal feeding, oral brooding, internal gestation, brood-pouch egg carrying, etc."

Territorial behaviour is generally necessary for guarders, and the embryos are almost always guarded by males (apart from cichlids). There is a need to be territorial because looking after embryos usually includes defending the site where they are being looked after. It also often means there is competition for the best egg-laying sites. Elaborate courtship behaviour is usual among guarders.

Guarding males keep the embryos safe from predators, keep oxygen levels high by fanning water currents, and keep the area free from dead embryos and debris. They protect the embryos until they hatch, and often look after the larval stages as well. The time spent guarding can range from a few days to several months.

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