A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF TERRITORIALITY IN INTERTIDAL AND SUBTIDAL BLENNIOIDS (TELEOSTEI, BLENNIOIDEI)

This paper presents a comparative analysis of territoriality in three intertidal (Lipophrys pholis, Coryphoblennius galerita, Salaria pavo) and two subtidal (Tripterygion delaisi, Parablennius pilicornis) blenn ioid fishes. Focal-animal observations of males guarding eggs showed t hat: (i) intertidal species had smaller territories that were less fre quently patrolled; (ii) in subtidal species feeding was limited to the territory, while in intertidal fishes a substantial proportion of the feeding acts occurred outside the defended area; (iii) intertidal spe cies spent less time out of the nest and showed a lower level of locom otory activity; (iv) subtidal species were subjected to a higher numbe r of territorial intrusions with more species intruding their territor y, some of them potential egg predators; (v) subtidal species performe d several water column displays that played a significant role in cour tship, while in intertidal fishes these displays are almost absent. Si gnalling without the presence of a female was almost absent in interti dal species. It is argued that intertidal fishes minimize the time spe nt out of the nest and the loss of contact with the substrate, feature s that may be of high survival value in conditions of strong turbulenc e. Although intertidal species have a reduced time available for feedi ng, this may be compensated by lower levels of locomotory activity, te rritorial defense and risk of egg predation.