Synopsis
The two damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus and D. marginatus are coral-dwelling species, occurring in separate groups or together in the corals Stylophora pistillata and Acropora spp. The two species, however, occur together more frequently than would be expected by chance. The niches of these species overlap in space, time and food. Looking for mechanisms that allow such coexistence, it was found that in such a bispecific group, no difference exists in agonistic acts between intra — or interspecific encounters. This phenomenon seems to be produced by two independent mechanisms — random settling of juveniles from the plankton and predation pressure that strongly limits the re-settling of the fish.
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Shpigel, M. Niche overlap among two species of coral dwelling fishes of the genus Dascyllus (Pomacentridae). Environ Biol Fish 7, 65–68 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011825
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011825