DOI: 10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb59
title: Life history traits and survival rate in <em>Neolamprologus buescheri</em>

description: Neolamprologus buescheri, a cooperatively breeding cichlid fish endemic to
 Lake Tanganyika, exhibits one of the slowest life histories documented
 among teleost fish. With remarkably small clutch sizes ranging from one to
 seven eggs (median = 3) and exceptionally high juvenile survival rates of
 over 50% within two months, this species deviates significantly from
 typical fish reproductive patterns. Its slow somatic growth, prolonged
 parental care, and occupation of deep-water habitats place it at the end
 of the fast–slow life-history continuum among fish.
description: # Life history traits and survival rate in *Neolamprologus buescheri*
 Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb59](10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb59) ##
 Description of the data and file structure Field sampling and behavioral
 observations were conducted via scuba diving at three sites located at the
 southern end of Lake Tanganyika: Kasenga (8.71530° S, 31.14182° E), Kombe
 (8.79839° S, 31.02001° E), and Cape Kachese (8.49187° S, 30.47987° E). Of
 these locations, Kombe Point was prioritized for sampling and observation
 as *N. buescheri* occurs there in relatively shallow waters, facilitating
 easier capture. All experimental procedures were approved by the Animal
 Care and Use Committees of the Graduate School of Advanced Studies at
 Kyoto University and were conducted in accordance with the ASAB/ABS
 Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Behavioral Research. Fieldwork in
 Lake Tanganyika was carried out with authorization from the Zambian
 Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and was conducted in
 full compliance with Zambian regulations. ### Files and variables ####
 File: clutch_size.xlsx **Description:** Life history trait data for
 females with a focus on clutch size ##### Variables * year: Sampling year
 * individual_ID: identification number  * population: localities where
 specimens were caught. * sex: female or male  * SL: standard length in cm
 * BW: body weight in g * gonad_weight_g: soma mass of specimen *
 clutch_size: the number of eggs in the overies * No_juveniles: the number
 of juveniles in their territory * egg_size: egg size in mm Note that this
 data was collected based on multiple projects, so some life history data
 is missing. NA indicates life history traits that were not measured. ####
 File: survival_and_body_size.xlsx Row data * year: Sampling year *
 nestID: identification number of nest * individual_ID: identification
 number of fry  * week: age of week * brood size: the number of fry in nest
 - survival: Absence or existence of focal fry  (1 = existence, 0 =
 absence) When the observation could not be conducted due to reasons such
 as the observer's physical condition, the data was indicated as NA.
 Brood size on one week * year: Sampling year * nestID: identification
 number of nest * individual_ID: identification number of fry  * week: age
 of week * brood size: the number of fry in nest - survival: Absence or
 existence of focal fry  (1 = existence, 0 = absence) * SL_in_mm: standard
 length of focal fry in mm data for survival analysis: this dataset was
 transformed from row data (sheet 1) to analysis * year: Sampling year *
 nestID: identification number of nest * individual_ID: identification
 number of fry  * week: age of week * brood size: the number of fry in nest
 * survival*duration: survival time (week) of focal fry during field
 observation.* * *SL_*in_mm: standard length of focal fry in mm #### File:
 analysis.R **Description:** R script for drawing figures used in the
 paper. This R script generates a Kaplan-Meier survival curve with
 confidence intervals and a risk table, plots a histogram of clutch size,
 and visualizes growth rate over time with point sizes representing counts
 and a red moving average trend line. ## Code/software R: R Core Team
 (2023). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R
 Foundation for Statistical Computing.