The glassy sweepers' way: seeking a versatile wrasse to be cleaned

Diurnal reef fishes compose the bulk of clients that seek cleaner fishes' services, but some nocturnal species that shelter at daytime also seek the cleaners. While doing so the nocturnal clients must leave their hiding places and thus they get exposed to potential diurnal predators. We report...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cristina Sazima, João Paulo Krajewski, Roberta Martini Bonaldo, Ivan Sazima
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
Series:Neotropical Ichthyology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252005000100008&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:Diurnal reef fishes compose the bulk of clients that seek cleaner fishes' services, but some nocturnal species that shelter at daytime also seek the cleaners. While doing so the nocturnal clients must leave their hiding places and thus they get exposed to potential diurnal predators. We report here on the cleaning interactions between a daytime cleaner wrasse (Thalassoma noronhanum) and a night time active client (Pempheris schomburgki) that usually remains sheltered at daytime. We recorded P. schomburgki leaving their shelter at daytime and heading towards T. noronhanum, whenever the cleaner swam by the shelter. Since T. noronhanum is able to tend temporary cleaning station near the safety of the shelters of its clients, P. schomburgki lessens a possible risk of predation by seeking this versatile cleaner.
ISSN:1982-0224