Fish which mate for life

Prairie voles are all about equality. Not only are these small rodents monogamous, but they also split nest-building and child-rearing duties equally. And in an interview with NPR, Larry Young , PhD, who works in the primate research center at Emory University, explains that these creatures tend to be loyal even after death.

In the wild, he says that in approximately 80 percent of situations where a vole loses its partner, they won't ever seek out another. Swans are quite romantic creatures, as their reputation would suggest. According to The Swan Sanctuary , these animals generally mate for life, and "if a mate is lost, then the surviving mate will go through a grieving process like humans do. When titi monkeys mate, they mate for life. According to the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin — Madison, these mammals tend to form close emotional bonds with their partners, and they prefer not to spend too much time apart.

When separated from their mates, titi monkeys exhibit "significant distress and agitation. It might come as a shock to anyone living in an urban area to learn that these pesky birds are one of the animals that mate for life. According to the Pigeon Control Resource Centre in England, pigeons can breed up to eight times a year if the conditions are right, creating two offspring each time.

No wonder cities have pigeon problems! Though monk parakeets, or Quaker parrots, are social creatures that live in colonies, they're a one-partner kind of bird. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these colorful creatures form monogamous pairs , and they spend a lot of time preening each other. Gray wolves might look scary, but deep down, they're just looking for love.

According to wildlife sanctuary Animal Ark, these furry animals are monogamous creatures —though during breeding season, only the alpha pair is allowed to fornicate and reproduce.

Darwinism at its finest. Black vultures are hardly the face of romance. However, once you get to know these flying animals, they're actually quite amorous. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania notes that black vultures mate for life, and coupled-up crowers stay together year-round. Once a pair is comfortable and breeding commences, they will return to each other and the same spot each year; for most albatross species, the bond lasts their entire life. So is it love? The biological reality is that albatrosses only lay a single egg a year.

With both parents fully invested in chick survival, their genetic heritage is most likely to survive. It may seem like love, but with those low reproduction rates no parents can afford to be deadbeats. If albatross relationships are reminiscent of fairytale romance, seahorses might be considered the swingers of the sea.

Many seahorse species will bond with a mate, but that bond often lasts only through a single breeding season or until a more attractive female comes along. But, monogamy in this case is useful since it can be hard to find fellow seahorses due to poor swimming skills and low densities.

There is evidence that the longer that partners are together, the more successful at breeding they become and the two are able to produce more offspring per brood. The pair passes their time cleaning the sponge and eating food that drifts through the sponge pores. After they breed, their tiny offspring disperse out through the sponge pores, but they will eventually find the same fate: a tiny home with a single mate.

In Japan, it was a common wedding present to give one of these sponges with two dead shrimp inside, as a symbol of lifelong unity. Romantic or creepy? Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40, subscribers can't be wrong. Other notable invertebrates: termites, mosquitos. Multiple species of skinks, Australian lizards, take only one mate. Shingleback skinks Tiliqua rugosus live alone most of the year but find their same partner every mating season.

They form loyal pairs for up to 20 years ; their average lifespan is 15 years. Gidgee skinks Egernia stokesii live in small family groups up to 17 lizards that last for at least 5 years. Breeding partners stay together and mate together year after year. Dainty duos that are small, but mighty in love.

Getting their name from the eyespots on their flanks resembling butterflies, they love hard, mate for life, and stake claim to a piece of reef real estate. And if they do become separated, they swim upward in hopes of getting a better view and finding their lost love.

Though these guys have a reputation for carrying quite the punch and flashing their vibrant colors, rough city life is not for them. Once they find the shrimp of their dreams, the mantis shrimp couple tires of the social scene. The shrewd shrimp pairs have decided the crowded reefs are full of predators and not safe for the survival of the family.

So the long-term lovers move to the suburbs just outside the reef to raise their shrimpy shrimp danger-free. Even under the sea, love puts our heads in the clouds. Mating Seahorses.