It’s showtime for the male three-spined stickleback as he tries to attract a mate
Living World
Lionel Kelleway looks for three-spined sticklebacks
STICKLEBACKS ARE TIDDLERS WITH A big personality, and April is the start of their spawning season, when the male fish transform from dowdy, brownish creatures to aquatic eye candy. Their belly flushes scarlet, while their flanks and eyes acquire stunning blue highlights. Equally striking is their change in behaviour. Territorial males will not let rivals come anywhere near, nor in fact will they permit anything red, alive or dead, to intrude on their patch. They are guarding nests made from scraps of weed and other vegetation, in the hope that passing females will be tempted to spawn there. Should a potential mate appear, they seal the deal by zigzagging through the water to show off their fitness and the location of their boudoir.
No more than 11cm long, sticklebacks are like miniature pike, in the sense that they are solitary predators. By contrast, minnows – another little freshwater fish – form shoals that often swim up to inspect the feet of wild swimmers and paddlers. Sticklebacks can be found in a wide range of streams, ditches and ponds, even if the water is not very clear.