Abstract
Field observations using underwater video were used to reveal differences in the duration and frequency that fish engaged in daily behaviours such as chasing, searching, feeding, and travelling, according to their social patterns [passive or aggressive terminal phases (TPs), pair-spawning, or promiscuous groups] and intraspecific status (terminal or initial colour phases). Marked differences were apparent according to status, but this was not consistent among the three species; TP Cheilinus fasciatus tended to swim in longer bouts with less frequent searching or feeding than initial phase (IP) conspecifics; TP Cirrhilabrus punctatus exhibited less frequent feeding and travelling than IP conspecifics, while the most aggressive species Stethojulis bandanensis displayed no significant intraspecific differences. We highlight the importance of social context and individual status when examining fish foraging activities and the utility of underwater video for recording the duration and frequency that fish engage in essential daily activities.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to J. Pink, D. Roche, and Lizard Island Research Station staff for field assistance, D. Starrs and A. Kahn for helpful discussions, M. Noble for illustrations, the Australian National University and Australian Research Council for funding and A. Harborne and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Conducted under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority permit G09/30054.1 and ANU Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee approval F.BTZ.41.10.
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Communicated by Ecology Editor Dr. Alastair Harborne
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Layton, C., Fulton, C.J. Status-dependent foraging behaviour in coral reef wrasses. Coral Reefs 33, 345–349 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1138-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1138-1