These findings will be published in Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 1 . The number of shells within each territory determines how many fish can live in each group, so females guard them fiercely for the future needs of their offspring. Schradin and Lamprecht report that females each have their own subterritories, and size matters. He and Lamprecht experimented with an artificial territory, inhabited by a male and female pair, furnished with an excess of shells to entice newcomers. Male peacekeeping is probably not completely noble in intent.
Males welcome new females to their territory to broaden their sexual opportunities.
They spend their days defending their harems from intrusive males, while looking out for new females with which to mate. Something similar goes on in songbird communities. The strongest male lures secondary and even tertiary females to his lair. Neolamprologus multifaciatus . 785998 England .