title: Home sweet home: evidence for nest-fidelity in the rocky intertidal fish, the shanny Lipophrys pholis.
abstract: The ability to be faithful to a particular area or site was analysed in the shanny Lipophrys pholis. Using passive integrated transponders, adults from a population of L. pholis at Cabo Raso, Portugal, were followed over a period of 3 years. The findings showed that site fidelity is a consistent behaviour during the breeding season with specific breeding males being found only in particular sectors within the area, and in specific nests throughout the years. The fact that, in general, L. pholis individuals were absent from the study area during the non-breeding season and breeding males were recorded returning to the same nests and sectors for consecutive breeding seasons suggests that they have developed excellent homing abilities. Translocation data corroborate this idea showing that breeding males successfully returned to their nests after a displacement of >100 m. Altogether, these findings highlight the relevance of life-history traits (e.g. nesting) in the conditioning of site fidelity and homing for this species of rocky intertidal fish, and more importantly, provide evidence for the need of a well-developed navigational system.
authors.affiliation: MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre at ISPA Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre at ISPA Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Almada
authors.affiliation: MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre at ISPA Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre at ISPA Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duarte-Coelho
authors.affiliation: MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre at ISPA Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Jorge
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001947:Breeding; D006702:Homing Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D011174:Portugal; D012621:Seasons
keywords: fish; homing; intertidal habitats; site fidelity; vertebrates