How territoriality affects the density of an egg predator： Habitat renovation and reintroduction as a method of conserving two endangered desert spring fish  

作　　者：Timothy PACIOREK Layla AL-SHAER Murray ITZKOWITZ 

机构地区：[1]Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2014年第4期527-533,共7页动物学报（英文版）

摘　　要：Conservation of endangered sympatric species must be carefully executed to ensure that the protection of one species does not negatively impact the survival of another. Critically endangered Pecos gambusia Gambusia nobilis and Leon Springs pupfish Cyprinodon bovinus, which are endemic to a threatened desert spring habitat, exemplify one such scenario. Recently, this habitat has been expanded, and captively bred C. bovinus were released to repopulate an area historically known to contain this species. A previous study suggested that G. nobilis are detrimental to C. bovinus populations, due to their tendency to congregate near spawning pairs and feed on their eggs. Whether G. nobilis are attracted to territorial C. bovinus, regardless of spawning behavior, remains unclear. To determine this, the number of G. nobilis in occupied and unoccupied breeding territories of both wild and captively bred C. bovinus was measured. Gambusia nobilis densities were similar between unoccupied and occupied territorial sites, suggesting that they do not show a preference for C. bovinus territories. Regardless of habitat location or prior captivity, territorial C. bovinus significantly excluded G. nobilis within their direct vicinity （5 cm）, but not from their entire territory. Decreased G. nobilis density within the habitat may allow C. bovinus to defend their breeding territories more readily during the summer spawning season. This study provides empirical evidence of captively raised individuals behaving similarly to wild indi- viduals upon reintroduction to their natural habitat and support for conservation methods that focus on common limiting factors between endangered species [Current Zoology 60 （4）： 527-533, 2014].

关 键 词：PUPFISH GAMBUSIA HABITAT Conservation Territory DENSITY 

分 类 号：S948[农业科学—水产养殖] Q16[农业科学—水产科学]