Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island
Isolated oceanic islands may give rise not only to new and endemic species, but also to unique behaviours and species interactions. Multi-species fish interactions, such as cleaning, following, mob-feeding and others are understudied in these ecosystems. Here we present qualitative and quantitative...
Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2016
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315416001041 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315416001041 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0025315416001041 2024-03-03T08:48:48+00:00 Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island Morais, R.A. Brown, J. Bedard, S. Ferreira, C.E.L. Floeter, S.R. Quimbayo, J.P. Rocha, L.A. Sazima, I. 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315416001041 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315416001041 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 97, issue 4, page 799-811 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 Aquatic Science journal-article 2016 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315416001041 2024-02-08T08:47:15Z Isolated oceanic islands may give rise not only to new and endemic species, but also to unique behaviours and species interactions. Multi-species fish interactions, such as cleaning, following, mob-feeding and others are understudied in these ecosystems. Here we present qualitative and quantitative observations on cleaning and mob-feeding reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean. Cleaning interactions were dominated by juveniles of the facultative fish cleaners Bodianus insularis and Pomacanthus paru , with lesser contributions of Chaetodon sanctaehelenae, Thalassoma ascensionis and the cleaner shrimp Lysmata grabhami . Two types of feeding mobs were consistently identified: less mobile mobs led by the surgeonfish Acanthurus bahianus and A. coeruleus and the more mobile mobs led by the African sergeant Abudefduf hoefleri . This is the first record of A. hoefleri from outside of the Eastern Atlantic and also the first report of this species displaying mob-feeding behaviour. The principal follower of both mob types was the extremely abundant Melichthys niger , but the main aggressor differed: Stegastes lubbocki , a highly territorial herbivore, was the main aggressor of Acanthurus mobs; and Chromis multilineata a territorial fish while engaged in egg parental care, was the principal aggressor towards Abudefduf mobs. Our study enhances the scarce information on reef fish feeding associations at the isolated Ascension Island and at oceanic islands in the Atlantic in general. Article in Journal/Newspaper South Atlantic Ocean Cambridge University Press Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 97 4 799 811 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
topic |
Aquatic Science |
spellingShingle |
Aquatic Science Morais, R.A. Brown, J. Bedard, S. Ferreira, C.E.L. Floeter, S.R. Quimbayo, J.P. Rocha, L.A. Sazima, I. Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island |
topic_facet |
Aquatic Science |
description |
Isolated oceanic islands may give rise not only to new and endemic species, but also to unique behaviours and species interactions. Multi-species fish interactions, such as cleaning, following, mob-feeding and others are understudied in these ecosystems. Here we present qualitative and quantitative observations on cleaning and mob-feeding reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean. Cleaning interactions were dominated by juveniles of the facultative fish cleaners Bodianus insularis and Pomacanthus paru , with lesser contributions of Chaetodon sanctaehelenae, Thalassoma ascensionis and the cleaner shrimp Lysmata grabhami . Two types of feeding mobs were consistently identified: less mobile mobs led by the surgeonfish Acanthurus bahianus and A. coeruleus and the more mobile mobs led by the African sergeant Abudefduf hoefleri . This is the first record of A. hoefleri from outside of the Eastern Atlantic and also the first report of this species displaying mob-feeding behaviour. The principal follower of both mob types was the extremely abundant Melichthys niger , but the main aggressor differed: Stegastes lubbocki , a highly territorial herbivore, was the main aggressor of Acanthurus mobs; and Chromis multilineata a territorial fish while engaged in egg parental care, was the principal aggressor towards Abudefduf mobs. Our study enhances the scarce information on reef fish feeding associations at the isolated Ascension Island and at oceanic islands in the Atlantic in general. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Morais, R.A. Brown, J. Bedard, S. Ferreira, C.E.L. Floeter, S.R. Quimbayo, J.P. Rocha, L.A. Sazima, I. |
author_facet |
Morais, R.A. Brown, J. Bedard, S. Ferreira, C.E.L. Floeter, S.R. Quimbayo, J.P. Rocha, L.A. Sazima, I. |
author_sort |
Morais, R.A. |
title |
Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island |
title_short |
Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island |
title_full |
Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island |
title_fullStr |
Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island |
title_sort |
mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated ascension island |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315416001041 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315416001041 |
genre |
South Atlantic Ocean |
genre_facet |
South Atlantic Ocean |
op_source |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 97, issue 4, page 799-811 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315416001041 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
97 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
799 |
op_container_end_page |
811 |
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1792505819831468032 |