Cleaner wrasse influence habitat selection of young damselfish

• Published in: Coral reefs 2016-06, Vol.35 (2), p.427-436
• Main Authors: Sun, D., Cheney, K. L., Werminghausen, J., McClure, E. C., Meekan, M. G., McCormick, M. I., Cribb, T. H., Grutter, A. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquariums; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Conspecifics; Coral reefs; Fish; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Habitat selection; Habitats; Halichoeres melanurus; Labroides dimidiatus; Life Sciences; Marine; Microhabitats; Mutualism; Natural environment; Oceanography; Pomacentrus amboinensis; Population structure
• ISSN: 0722-4028; 1432-0975
• DOI: 10.1007/s00338-015-1391-y

The presence of bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus , on coral reefs increases total abundance and biodiversity of reef fishes. The mechanism(s) that cause such shifts in population structure are unclear, but it is possible that young fish preferentially settle into microhabitats where cleaner wrasse are present. As a first step to investigate this possibility, we conducted aquarium experiments to examine whether settlement-stage and young juveniles of ambon damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis , selected a microhabitat near a cleaner wrasse (adult or juvenile). Both settlement-stage (0 d post-settlement) and juvenile (~5 weeks post-settlement) fish spent a greater proportion of time in a microhabitat adjacent to L. dimidiatus than in one next to a control fish (a non-cleaner wrasse, Halichoeres melanurus ) or one where no fish was present. This suggests that cleaner wrasse may serve as a positive cue during microhabitat selection. We also conducted focal observations of cleaner wrasse and counts of nearby damselfishes (1 m radius) to examine whether newly settled fish obtained direct benefits, in the form of cleaning services, from being near a cleaner wrasse. Although abundant, newly settled recruits (