Breeding cycles and reproductive behaviour in the river blenny Salaria fluviatillis.

Female gravidity (assessed according to the roundness of the female’s abdomen) in a population of Corsican river blennies Salaria fluviatilis showed a cyclical pattern over the breeding season. Behavioural interactions between males and females matched these cycles. The rate of female visits to males’ territories did not differ between periods of high and low daily average gravidity in the population. While males courted a similar proportion of females in both periods, they rejected a higher proportion of females when daily average gravidity was high. Furthermore female courtship of males was observed at this time, whereas it never occurred during low daily average gravidity periods. Thus, temporal variation in female availability for spawning caused both males and females to alter their behaviour in such a way that a sex role reversal in courtship was observed.