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Anemonefishes rely on visual and chemical cues to correctly identify conspecifics

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Abstract

Organisms rely on sensory cues to interpret their environment and make important life-history decisions. Accurate recognition is of particular importance in diverse reef environments. Most evidence on the use of sensory cues focuses on those used in predator avoidance or habitat recognition, with little information on their role in conspecific recognition. Yet conspecific recognition is essential for life-history decisions including settlement, mate choice, and dominance interactions. Using a sensory manipulated tank and a two-chamber choice flume, anemonefish conspecific response was measured in the presence and absence of chemical and/or visual cues. Experiments were then repeated in the presence or absence of two heterospecific species to evaluate whether a heterospecific fish altered the conspecific response. Anemonefishes responded to both the visual and chemical cues of conspecifics, but relied on the combination of the two cues to recognize conspecifics inside the sensory manipulated tank. These results contrast previous studies focusing on predator detection where anemonefishes were found to compensate for the loss of one sensory cue (chemical) by utilizing a second cue (visual). This lack of sensory compensation may impact the ability of anemonefishes to acclimate to changing reef environments in the future.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Sustainable Aquatics, Tennessee for supplying anemonefish, and KD Koppel and MM Ashur for assistance in animal husbandry. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Georgia Institute of Technology funded the research. Animal care and experimental protocols complied with animal ethics regulations and approvals from Georgia Institute of Technology. Ethics approval number A14035.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30336, USA

    Nicole K. Johnston & Danielle L. Dixson

  2. School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, 103B Robinson Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Danielle L. Dixson

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  1. Nicole K. Johnston
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  2. Danielle L. Dixson
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Correspondence to Danielle L. Dixson.

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Communicated by Ecology Editor Dr. Alastair Harborne

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Johnston, N.K., Dixson, D.L. Anemonefishes rely on visual and chemical cues to correctly identify conspecifics. Coral Reefs 36, 903–912 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-017-1582-9

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