The macroecology of marine cleaning mutualisms

1. Marine cleaning mutualisms generally involve small fish or shrimps removing ectoparasites and other material from cooperating 'client' fish. We evaluate the role of fish abundance, body size and behaviour as determinants of interactions with cleaning mutualists. 2. Data come from eight reef locations in Brazil, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Australia. 3. We conducted a meta-analysis of client-cleaner interactions involving 11 cleaner and 221 client species. 4. There was a strong, positive effect of client abundance on cleaning frequency, but only a weak, negative effect of client body size. These effects were modulated by client trophic group and social behaviour. 5. This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting a central role of species abundance in structuring species interactions.Fil: Floeter, Sergio R.. University of California; Estados Unidos. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Vazquez, Diego P.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Grutter, Alexandra S.. University of Queensland; Australi

Experimental evidence that partner choice is a driving force in the payoff distribution among cooperators or mutualists: the cleaner fish case

Supply and demand largely determine the price of goods on human markets. It has been proposed that in animals, similar forces influence the payoff distribution between trading partners in Sexual selection, intraspecific cooperation and interspecific mutualism. Here we present the first experimental evidence supporting biological market theory in it study on cleaner fish, Labroides dimidiatus. Cleaners interact with two classes of clients: choosy client species with access to several cleaners usually do not queue for service and do not return if ignored, while resident client species with access to only one cleaning station do queue or return. We used plexiglas plates with equal amounts of food to stimulate these behaviours of the two client classes. Cleaners soon inspected 'choosy' plates before 'resident' plates. This supports previous field observations that suggest that client species with access to several cleaners exert choice to receive better(immediate) service

Natatory-stage Cymothoid Isopods: Description, Molecular Identification and Evolution of Attachment

Cymothoid isopods are parasites that have a biphasic life cycle comprised of free-swimming micropredatory stages that eventually attach permanently to fishes, on which they change sex and morphology. Thus, matching free-swimming and permanently attached life-history stages is difficult. We attempted to identify natatory-stage cymothoids by seeking matches of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences from these stages and described adult cymothoids. Natatory cymothoids were collected from light traps at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef and adult females were collected from fishes from several sites along the east coast of Australia. A 488 bp alignment of 16S mtDNA was compared for nine species of adult cymothoids and 10 natatory-stage morphotypes. Sequences from five natatory morphotypes were similar or identical to described specimens. Sequences identical to those of Anilocra nemipteri and Cymothoa indica were collected and these are considered definitive identifications. Sequences of three other morphotypes were highly similar (97.1–99.8% homologous) to described species; the differences may reflect a low level of sequencing error, intra-specific variation or the presence of complexes of species. Figures and descriptions are provided for identified and unidentified natatory cymothoids. The sequences were also used to explore the phylogenetic relationships of these taxa using minimum evolution, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses. Topologies from each of the four phylogenetic analyses did not differ significantly. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods produced identical topologies with the highest resolution. These analyses showed that some morphological characters (pereopods and uropods) of natatory stages were distributed consistently on these molecular phylogenies, raising the possibility of identifying some natatory stages to genus. Our results suggest that ancestral cymothoids attached in the buccal or gill cavity and that external attachment, as seen in Anilocra and Renocila is a derived condition that has arisen more than once

24/7 Service: Nocturnal Cleaning In A Tropical Indo-pacific Reef

[No abstract available