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dc.contributor.advisorAmundsen, Trond
dc.contributor.advisorRatikainen, Irja Ida
dc.contributor.authorGavriilidi, Ioanna Aikaterini
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-16T14:00:18Z
dc.date.available2019-09-16T14:00:18Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11250/2617026
dc.description.abstract
dc.description.abstractIntra-sexual competition plays an important role in the evolutionary process of sexual selection. Male-male competition over resources that are essential for mating success may prevent unsuccessful competitors from breeding. The intensity of competition is influenced by the availability, quality, and distribution of such resources. The spatial distribution of resources may facilitate monopolisation, limit the density of breeders and skew the reproductive success among individuals in a population. In some species, one such resource is favourable nests sites, which males compete for, occupy and defend against intruders. The aim of this study was to test the extent to which nest spacing, and specifically inter-nest distance, induces intra-sexual competition (territorial aggression). In order to address this question I focused on how distance between pairs of nests affects nest occupancy, mating success and asynchrony in breeding of male two-spotted gobies (Pomatoschistus flavescens), a small fish with a resource defence based breeding system and uniparental care provided by males. Results show that shorter inter-nest distance did not affect nest occupancy, mating success or asynchrony in breeding of males and does not appear to intensify male-male competition. These results suggest that nest spacing does not limit the density of breeding males. However, further studies are required to understand the effect of nest spacing on the intensity of sexual selection. The high occupancy rates, irrespective of distance, suggest that the artificial nests are favourable nesting sites. Although potential natural nesting sites for the two-spotted gobies seem to be abundant in the studied area, high-quality nests might be in limited supply.
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherNTNU
dc.titleTerritoriality and nest competition in the two-spotted goby (Pomatoschistus flavescens)
dc.typeMaster thesis


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