The Mouth Brooding Strategy
The mouth brooding strategy involves the female carrying and guarding the fertilised eggs inside her mouth, an example of a species of fish that uses the mouth brooding strategy is Cyphotilapia Frontosa.
A general description of this method-
With mouth brooder's the male and female will then start to circle each other. The female will lay one of her eggs and swim over it, the male will then swim over the egg and spray milt to fertilise it, then the female will pick up the fertilised egg. This procedure will repeat until all of the eggs have been fertilised and collected by the female. The female will then carry her brood in her mouth for around three weeks, then will release the fry and will protect and guard them until they become independent and can survive on their own.
with the Frontosa Cichlid, the male will firstly leave his cave, making it look presentable to the female, the female will enter and lay her eggs on the spot that the male has cleared for her. The male will then fertilise the eggs, and the female will collect them in her mouth and guard and protect them there for around 28 days, until they are strong enough to be released.
Species variation-
There are two different variations of mouth brooder's. Some mouth brooder's are ovophiles, this means that they pick up the fertilised eggs in their mouths and also carry their brood when they have hatched. Although, some mouth brooder's are larvophiles, this means that they guard and protect their eggs until they hatch, and they then pick up the fry in their mouths and protect them. This can vary depending on the species but both methods require high amounts of energy from the female.
Parental protection-
Mouth brooder's provide parental protection and do in fact look after their brood. The eggs and the larvae are protected in the female's mouth, which will keep them sheltered from predators and will also mean that they are more likely to survive, increasing the population of the species.
Offspring numbers-
The brood size for Frontosa Cichlid's is usually around 50 eggs, but mouth brooder's in general can produce brood's that range from 20-50 fry. They do not need to produce as many eggs as egg scatterer's due to their higher success rate, and also due to the fact that they protect their young, giving them a better chance of survival.
Survival strategy-
The female will take her fry back into her mouth if she spots any potential danger, and she will continue to due this until they become independent. This is the strategy which is used to aid the survival of the brood. This is a very successful method of ensuring their survival as the female is protecting and looking after the brood during their vulnerable stage, she makes sure that they are safe from predators and also puts herself at risk by protecting her fry. As her fry continue to grow in size, she will begin to take the strongest and biggest of the fry into her mouth first, if there are any signs of danger, this is to ensure that the fry with the better chance of surviving on their own are protected first. She does this as she will not have enough room in her mouth to protect all of her brood, so she must choose the ones that will strengthen the species (survival of the fittest), this method usually means that the weakest and smallest of the brood will be predated on.
Evaluation of the success of this method-
There is a high chance of success with mouth brooder's, this is due to the amount of parental protection provided by the female. She makes sure that her brood can survive on their own, and will protect them until she is sure that they can do so. She protects them from predators and ensures that they survive the most vulnerable stage of their life.
Genetic diversity-
There is a low amount of genetic diversity with this method, this is due to the fact that the breeding process only involves one pair of fish, one female and one male.
Energy costs-
The energy costs are very high with this strategy, this is due to the fact that the female has to exist without food, she also uses her energy to bring her fry to feeding ground and protect them whilst they feed, meaning she has to use a lot of her energy even when the fry are beginning to become independent.
A general description of this method-
With mouth brooder's the male and female will then start to circle each other. The female will lay one of her eggs and swim over it, the male will then swim over the egg and spray milt to fertilise it, then the female will pick up the fertilised egg. This procedure will repeat until all of the eggs have been fertilised and collected by the female. The female will then carry her brood in her mouth for around three weeks, then will release the fry and will protect and guard them until they become independent and can survive on their own.
with the Frontosa Cichlid, the male will firstly leave his cave, making it look presentable to the female, the female will enter and lay her eggs on the spot that the male has cleared for her. The male will then fertilise the eggs, and the female will collect them in her mouth and guard and protect them there for around 28 days, until they are strong enough to be released.
Species variation-
There are two different variations of mouth brooder's. Some mouth brooder's are ovophiles, this means that they pick up the fertilised eggs in their mouths and also carry their brood when they have hatched. Although, some mouth brooder's are larvophiles, this means that they guard and protect their eggs until they hatch, and they then pick up the fry in their mouths and protect them. This can vary depending on the species but both methods require high amounts of energy from the female.
Parental protection-
Mouth brooder's provide parental protection and do in fact look after their brood. The eggs and the larvae are protected in the female's mouth, which will keep them sheltered from predators and will also mean that they are more likely to survive, increasing the population of the species.
Offspring numbers-
The brood size for Frontosa Cichlid's is usually around 50 eggs, but mouth brooder's in general can produce brood's that range from 20-50 fry. They do not need to produce as many eggs as egg scatterer's due to their higher success rate, and also due to the fact that they protect their young, giving them a better chance of survival.
Survival strategy-
The female will take her fry back into her mouth if she spots any potential danger, and she will continue to due this until they become independent. This is the strategy which is used to aid the survival of the brood. This is a very successful method of ensuring their survival as the female is protecting and looking after the brood during their vulnerable stage, she makes sure that they are safe from predators and also puts herself at risk by protecting her fry. As her fry continue to grow in size, she will begin to take the strongest and biggest of the fry into her mouth first, if there are any signs of danger, this is to ensure that the fry with the better chance of surviving on their own are protected first. She does this as she will not have enough room in her mouth to protect all of her brood, so she must choose the ones that will strengthen the species (survival of the fittest), this method usually means that the weakest and smallest of the brood will be predated on.
Evaluation of the success of this method-
There is a high chance of success with mouth brooder's, this is due to the amount of parental protection provided by the female. She makes sure that her brood can survive on their own, and will protect them until she is sure that they can do so. She protects them from predators and ensures that they survive the most vulnerable stage of their life.
Genetic diversity-
There is a low amount of genetic diversity with this method, this is due to the fact that the breeding process only involves one pair of fish, one female and one male.
Energy costs-
The energy costs are very high with this strategy, this is due to the fact that the female has to exist without food, she also uses her energy to bring her fry to feeding ground and protect them whilst they feed, meaning she has to use a lot of her energy even when the fry are beginning to become independent.