Nest preview behavior of Dascyllus reticulatus (Video_S1) (26.6MB, 00:00:59) Shot Date: 2016/06/06 Shot Location: Kuchierabu-jima Island
		species Dascyllus reticulatus Key Words damselfish nest preview
	Rei Sakanoue 2025/08/24 submitted

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Animalia >Chordata >Actinopterygii >Perciformes >Pomacentridae >Dascyllus >

Nest preview behavior of Dascyllus reticulatus observed on the reefs of Kuchierabu-jima Island, Kagoshima, southern Japan. Two females visit the nest and rub their abdomen against the surface of the nest with the breeding male before the mating day.

Below is the abstract from the article containing this video:

Subordinate males in various animal groups often exhibit female mimicry as an alternative tactic. However, direct evidence of female mimicry behaviors in pomacentrids, an excellent model for studying the diversity of mating tactics in teleost under natural conditions, remains scarce. Here, we report female-mimicking behaviors in the sexually monochromatic coral- dwelling damselfish Dascyllus reticulatus, where subordinate males perform pair-spawning behaviors in the female role with dominant territorial males. These subordinate males also displayed nest-previewing behavior in mating nests a few days before pseudo-spawning, closely resembling the reproductive sequences of the females. Although subordinate males stably cohabited with the territorial male, one subordinate male suffered severe attacks from the dominant male immediately after pseudo-spawning, implying sperm release at the nest. As the territorial dominant males of D. reticulatus prioritized inducing female spawning in the harem and often released sperm after the female spawned within their mating sequence, it was inferred that unfertilized eggs remained on the mating nest at the time of pseudo-spawning. Female-mimicking behaviors may provide subordinate males with tactical advantages, such as potentially gaining partial paternity of eggs in mating nests by deceiving territorial males. Digital video images related to the article are available at http://www.momo-p.com/showd etail-e.php?movieid=momo250804dr01a, http://www.momo-p.com/showdetail-e.php?movieid=momo250804dr02a, and http://www.momo-p.com/showdetail-e.php?movieid=momo250804dr03a.

Rei Sakanoue, and Yoichi Sakai (2025) Female‐mimicking spawning by subordinate males of the coral‐dwelling damselfish Dascyllus reticulatus—a possible sneaking tactic observed in wild groups. J. Ethol. 10.1007/s10164-025-00862-8

(Data No.momo250804dr01a)

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