ABSTRACT
Sticklebacks belong to the teleost family Gasterosteidae. The sticklebacks are evidently closely related to the small family of the Aulorhynchidae and are often grouped into the order of the Gasterostei-formes, together with the tube snouts and several other species with prominent snouts. All members of the stickleback family are typical spring breeders, which generally spawn between March at the earliest and August at the latest. Male sticklebacks can be considered to be fully sexually mature when they have built a nest. Female sticklebacks are considered to be sexually mature when they are willing to respond to a courting male by following him to the nest and creeping into it to deposit her eggs. The influence of social stimuli, such as the presence of conspecific males or females, or of vegetation and nesting material, on reproductive behavior of sticklebacks is well known.
