Abstract
Cleaning behavior is a well-known example of trophic specialization that is widespread in marine organisms from both tropical and temperate ecosystems. Cleaner species can be more or less specialized in different aspects of cleaning interactions, and it is often assumed that the more specialized cleaners are, the more they rely on clients for food. However, cleaners can consume different items in different sites, and the factors influencing such variation are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the diet and distribution of the barber goby Elacatinus figaro across marginal reefs of the Brazilian coast. We evaluated E. figaro’s reliance on cleaning interactions for food and asked whether its diet and abundance corresponded to the availability of ectoparasites and/or clients. The diet of E. figaro varied across sites, but ectoparasite reliance was similar and did not correspond to client’s infestation loads. Moreover, the density of E. figaro did not correlate with the density or richness of potential clients. These support the hypothesis that E. figaro is less reliant on cleaning interactions for food than other cleaning goby species and suggest a high feeding and behavioral plasticity in marginal reefs. This study also highlights that the current dichotomous classification scheme of dedicated versus facultative cleaners fails to capture the subtle nuances of cleaning behavior and should therefore be used with caution in future comparative studies.
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The R scripts used to analyze data and produce figures are available from the corresponding author on request.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Guilherme O. Longo and the SISBIOTA network for the assistance in the field, Virginia Paola for the ectoparasites identification, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. RM was supported by a Master’s scholarship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). TCM was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) with a Nota 10 fellowship (# E-26/202.858/2016). JLL was supported by a research fellowship from CNPq. CELF is supported by CNPq and FAPERJ grants. CAMMC was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). M.C.S. is currently supported by National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (DL57/2016/CP1440/CT0019).
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This study was funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) through research funds granted to CELF.
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RM, MCS, and CELF designed the study. RM, TCM, and CAMMC collected and analyzed the data. JLL identified the ectoparasites. RM wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Mazzei, R., Mendes, T.C., Cordeiro, C.A.M.M. et al. Diet and abundance of the barber goby Elacatinus figaro on Brazilian marginal reefs: ecological predictors and reliance on cleaning interactions. Mar Biol 168, 64 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03856-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03856-5