NOVA Online | Kingdom of the Seahorse (2024)

Sticklebacks are carnivorous river fish who enjoy eating, among otherdelicacies, eggs of other stickleback fish. The job of protecting thefertilized eggs falls to the male. Using secretions from his kidneys to gluetogether odd bits of vegetation, the male builds a sturdy nest. After thefemale lays her eggs, the male fertilizes them and flattens them into a sheetagainst the bottom of the nest, so that another layer of eggs may be laid ontop. Up to seven layers of fertilized eggs may be collected by the male overa period of one to two days. Next, he aerates the eggs by fanning waterthrough the nest. He inspects his clutch constantly and will pick out and eatany eggs that die or become moldy. Once the young sticklebacks hatch, the maleprotects them for up to a week by gathering wayward fry in his mouth andspitting them back into the nest.

Paternal care in amphibians is extremely rare. One exception is found in afamily of neotropical frogs. The male Panamanian poison-arrow frog isresponsible for sitting on the eggs and keeping them hydrated with moisturefrom his skin. He also bears the job of carrying the newly-hatched tadpoles towater on his back.

Deer mice dads pitch in by guarding their young when the female goes offto feed. Males have been observed hovering over their young, surrounding themwith nesting material, and even washing them. Studies of rodent species haveshown that pups reared in the company of both parents survive better and growfaster that those reared only by the mother.

The male emperor penguin is entirely responsible for incubating hismate's precious egg over the long Antarctic winter. He does this inland, whilethe female returns to the sea to feed. His success depends entirely on his fatstores; if a male gets too thin, he will abandon his egg and try to get back tothe ocean. Big fat males are consequently creatures of great worth and femaleshave been observed fighting over them. Once the egg hatches, the male producesmilk from gland in his esophagus to feed his chick.

Spotted sandpipers are one of a few species of birds that are sex-rolereversed; females are aggressive and play the more active role in courtship,while males provides most or all of the care for the young. Studies of thebirds' hormones have shown that males have higher levels of prolactin thanfemales—particularly after a clutch of eggs has been laid. Males will siton the eggs for a 21-day incubation period and then tend the fledglings foranother 21 days. Females may offer some assistance if the clutch is her lastof the season, but she will be quick to shirk her duties if an opportunityarises to take another mate.

The male Red Fox is a devoted mate and father. Not only does he supplyhis vixen with fresh food every four to six hours while she nurses her pups,but he is equally dedicated to teaching his offspring survival skills. Maleswill bury food near the den to train pups how to sniff and forage and will playambush games with them to teach self-defense.