Maintenance of pair bond during the non-reproductive season in a monogamous pipefish Corythoichthys haematopterus

During the non-reproductive season, male and female Corythoichthys haematopterus came to a particular site every early morning and performed a series of displays, called greetings, for a few minutes. After exchanging greetings, they had no further interactions during the daytime. This behavioural pattern was basically the same as that observed during the reproductive season. All greeting pairs bred in the following reproductive season if both members were present. These results indicate that mate fidelity of this pipefish is very high and that daily greetings lasting only a few minutes were enough to maintain pair bond all year around.