Journal
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
Volume 73, Issue 10, Pages 2380-2389Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.02086.x
Keywords
antimicrobial; paternal care; pathogen; stickleback glue
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Funding
- The Leverhulme Trust
- BBSRC
- NERC
- Wellcome Trust
- The Nuffield Foundation
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The egg nest of male three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus is constructed with a glue-like secretion that this study demonstrates has antimicrobial properties. Glue collected from reproductively active males decreased the growth rate of bacteria and opportunistic fungi, and eggs were more likely to mature and hatch after exposure to their father's glue. This phenomenon may represent a direct physiological contribution from a male towards protecting his offspring from pathogens, and if so is a novel form of parental protection.
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