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Coordinated vigilance provides evidence for direct reciprocity in coral reef fishes.

ABSTRACT: Reciprocity is frequently assumed to require complex cognitive abilities. Therefore, it has been argued that reciprocity may be restricted to animals that can meet these demands. Here, we provide evidence for the potential presence of direct reciprocity in teleost fishes. We demonstrate that in pairs of coral reef rabbitfishes (f. Siganidae), one fish frequently assumes an upright vigilance position in the water column, while the partner forages in small crevices in the reef substratum. Both behaviours are strongly coordinated and partners regularly alternate their positions, resulting in a balanced distribution of foraging activity. Compared to solitary individuals, fishes in pairs exhibit longer vigilance bouts, suggesting that the help provided to the partner is costly. In turn, fishes in pairs take more consecutive bites and penetrate deeper into crevices than solitary individuals, suggesting that the safety provided by a vigilant partner may outweigh initial costs by increasing foraging efficiency. Thus, the described system appears to meet all of the requirements for direct reciprocity. We argue that the nature of rabbitfish pairs provides favourable conditions for the establishment of direct reciprocity, as continuous interaction with the same partner, simultaneous needs, interdependence, and communication relax the cognitive demands of reciprocal cooperation.

SUBMITTER: Brandl SJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4585916 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Coral reef fishes

Project description:Coral reef fish vision

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Extinction vulnerability of coral reef fishes.

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Project description:The Indo-Pacific is home to Earth's most biodiverse coral reefs. Diversity on these reefs decreases from the Coral Triangle east through the islands of Melanesia. Despite this pattern having been identified during the early 20th century, our knowledge about the interaction between pattern and process remains incomplete. To evaluate the structure of coral reef fish communities across Melanesia, we obtained distributional records for 396 reef fish species in five taxa across seven countries. We used hierarchical clustering, nestedness, and multiple linear regression analyses to evaluate the community structure. We also compiled data on life history traits (pelagic larval duration, body size and schooling behavior) to help elucidate the ecological mechanisms behind community structure. Species richness for these taxa along the gradient was significantly related to longitude but not habitat area. Communities are significantly nested, indicating that species-poor communities are largely composed of subsets of the species found on species rich reefs. These trends are robust across taxonomic groups except for the Pomacentridae, which exhibit an anti-nested pattern, perhaps due to a large number of endemic species. Correlations between life history traits and the number of reefs on which species occurred indicate that dispersal and survival ability contribute to determining community structure. We conclude that distance from the Coral Triangle dominates community structure in reef fish; however, conservation of the most species-rich areas will not be sufficient alone to conserve the vivid splendor of this region.

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Community assembly and diversification in Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes.

Project description:Theories of species coexistence have played a central role in ecology and evolutionary studies of the origin and maintenance of biodiversity in highly diverse communities. The concept of niche and associated theories predict that competition for available ecological space leads to a ceiling in species richness that influences further diversification patterns. By contrast, the neutral theory supports that speciation is stochastic and diversity independent. We examined the phylogenetic community structure and diversification rates in three families and 14 sites within coral reef fish communities from the Indian and Pacific oceans. Using the phylogenetic relationships among 157 species estimated with 2300 bp of mitochondrial DNA, we tested predictions in terms of species coexistence from the neutral and niche theories. At the regional scale, our findings suggest that phylogenetic community structure shifts during community assembly to a pattern of dispersion as a consequence of allopatric speciation in recent times but overall, variations in diversification rates did not relate with sea level changes. At the local scale, the phylogenetic community structure is consistent with a neutral model of community assembly since no departure from a random sorting of species was observed. The present results support a neutral model of community assembly as a consequence of the stochastic and unpredictable nature of coral reefs favoring generalist and sedentary species competing for living space rather than trophic resources. As a consequence, the observed decrease in diversification rates may be seen as the result of a limited supply of living space as expected in a finite island model.

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