Aulonocara nyassae, an African cichlid, exhibits strong social hierarchies, with dominant, subdominant, and submissive males showing distinct behavioral patterns. This study aimed to evaluate how male social status influences reproductive and courtship behaviors, as well as female behavioral responses.
The experiment was conducted at the Laboratório de Aquacultura (Laqua), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. Four males from each social status (dominant, subdominant, and submissive) (9.62 ± 1.50 g)—were individually allocated to 12 aquaria in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Each aquarium housed one male and three females (7.52 ± 1.55 g), following a male-to-female ratio of 1:3 (FAO, 2009). Animals were video-recorded for 10 min at twice on days 6–10, 31–35, and 61–65, using a camera positioned in front of the tanks. An ethogram was created to record reproductive behaviors—including locomotion, courtship, chasing, inactivity, spawning, fertilization, and parental care—in males and females, with social status assessed through aggressive and submissive interactions. Data were analyzed by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (P < 0.05). The results are shown in Figure 1. Inactivity (P = 0.08) and fertilization (P = 0.10) were unaffected. Subdominant and submissive males showed more locomotion (P = 0.003), while dominant and subdominant males showed more chasing (P = 0.02). Female inactivity (P = 0.13), spawning (P = 0.20), and parental care (P = 0.07) were unaffected, but locomotion (P = 0.04) and courtship (P = 0.04) increased with dominant and subdominant males. Overall, male social status strongly shapes reproductive behaviors in both sexes (linking behavior to social hierarchy).