The evolution of exceptional diversity in parental care and fertilization modes in ray-finned fishes

Among vertebrates, ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) display the highest diversity in parental care, and their diversification has been hypothesized to be related to phylogenetic changes in fertilization modes. Using the most comprehensive, sex-specific data from 7,600 species of 62 extant orders of ray-finned fishes, we inferred ancestral states and transitions among care types and caring episodes (i.e., the stage of offspring development). Our work has uncovered 3 novel findings. First, transitions among different care types (i.e., male-only care, female-only care, biparental care, and no care) are common, and the frequencies of these transitions show unusually diverse patterns concerning fertilization modes (external, or internal via oviduct, mouth, or brood pouch). Second, both oviduct and mouth fertilization are selected for female-biased care, whereas fertilization in a brood pouch is selected for male-biased care. Importantly, internal fertilization without parental care is extremely unstable phylogenetically. Third, we show that egg care in both sexes is associated with nest building (which is male-biased) and fry care (which is female-biased). Taken together, the aquatic environment, which supports considerable flexibility in care, facilitated the diversification of parenting behavior, creating the evolutionary bases for more comprehensive parenting to protect offspring in semiterrestrial or terrestrial environments.