Parasite infestation increases on coral reefs without cleaner fish

Grutter, Alexandra S.; Brauwer, Maarten De; Bshary, Redouan; Cheney, Karen L.; Cribb, Thomas H.; Madin, Elizabeth M. P.; McClure, Eva C.; Meekan, Mark G.; Sun, Derek; Warner, Robert R.; Werminghausen, Johanna; Sikkel, Paul C.

doi:10.1007/s00338-017-1628-z

Cited by 34 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…While the cleaner-client system amongst reef teleosts has received considerable attention, the spatially and taxonomically diverse associations between cleaners and elasmobranchs are less understood (Couturier et al 2018;Grutter et al 2018). This study represents the first attempt to quantify interactions between giant manta rays and cleaner wrasse in the natural environment and supports knowledge of the importance of cleaning stations to marine ecosystems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Current strength, temperature, and bodyscape modulate cleaning services for giant manta rays

2020

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The cleaner-client system among reef teleosts has received considerable attention in both wild and captive environments, but the spatially and taxonomically diverse associations between cleaner fish and elasmobranchs are less understood. Using remote video, we investigated interactions between giant manta rays (Mobula birostris) and cleaner wrasse at a seamount in the Philippines. Cleaning events occurred between 11:00 and 16:00 h on a seasonal basis and were constrained by current strengths and ambient water temperatures. The frequency with which giant manta rays interacted with cleaner fish varied on an individual basis. Blue streaked cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) and moon wrasse (Thalassoma lunare) selectively foraged on manta rays' gills and pelvis, with L. dimidiatus also demonstrating slight preferences for the pectoral fins. Cleaners' foraging preferences may indicate ectoparasitic infections in specific areas of a manta ray's body. The exclusivity with which giant manta rays visited a particular cleaning station on the seamount may be a response to the quality of services that cleaners provide there. Giant mantas' fidelity to this site may also be attributed to localised concentrations of food that are available nearby. The seamount provides habitat that appears to be important to the life history strategies of the region's giant manta rays.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Current strength, temperature, and bodyscape modulate cleaning services for giant manta rays

2020

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“…Environmental perturbations, such as bleaching and cyclones, can lower cleaner fish abundance considerably [38] and OA has the potential to disrupt cleaning interactions [14]. Such perturbations could lead to disruptions in cleaners' control of gnathiid abundances [39]. Our results, indicating an apparent tolerance of these fish ectoparasites to OA, suggest that a potential cascading impact of OA on the cleaning symbiosis may include the continued need for cleaners' parasite removal services in clients under projected OA conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Ocean Acidification Does Not Affect Fish Ectoparasite Survival

Paula

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et al. 2020

Oceans

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The juveniles of gnathiid isopods are one of the most common fish ectoparasites in marine habitats and cause deleterious effects on fish by feeding on host blood and lymph. Reef fishes tend to engage in cooperative interactions with cleaning organisms to reduce their ectoparasite load. Ocean acidification (OA) pose multiple threats to marine life. Recently, OA was found to disrupt cleaner fish behaviour in mutualistic cleaning interactions. However, the potential effects of ocean acidification on this common ectoparasite remains unknown. Here, we test if exposure to an acidification scenario predicted by IPCC to the end of the century (RCP 8.5 – 980 μatm pCO2) affects gnathiid survival. Our results show that ocean acidification did not have any effects on gnathiid survival rate during all three juvenile life stages. Thus, we advocate that the need for cleaning interactions will persist in potentially acidified coral reefs. Nevertheless, to better understand gnathiid resilience to ocean acidification, future studies are needed to evaluate ocean acidification impacts on gnathiid reproduction and physiology as well as host-parasite interactions.

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“…Cleaner wrasse perform two key ecological roles: they remove ectoparasites from client surfaces [41,43], and reduce infection rates on hosts by lowering local ectoparasite densities [53,67]. We hypothesized that cleaner presence could similarly affect endoparasite abundance indirectly through the removal of ectoparasites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This creates habitats where resident fish have reduced access to cleaning organisms, and presumably higher exposure to ectoparasites, than adjacent unmanipulated control reefs (i.e. [45,46,50,51,53]). These patches are separated by at least 5 m of sand, and small, territorial resident fishes do not cross between patches once they have settled.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cleaner wrasse indirectly affect the cognitive performance of a damselfish through ectoparasite removal

et al. 2018

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Cleaning organisms play a fundamental ecological role by removing ectoparasites and infected tissue from client surfaces. We used the well-studied cleaning mutualisms involving the cleaner wrasse, to test how client cognition is affected by ectoparasites and whether these effects are mitigated by cleaners. Ambon damselfish ( collected from experimental reef patches without cleaner wrasse performed worse in a visual discrimination test than conspecifics from patches with cleaners. Endoparasite abundance also negatively influenced success in this test. Visual discrimination performance was also impaired in damselfish experimentally infected with gnathiid (Crustacea: Isopoda) ectoparasites. Neither cleaner absence nor gnathiid infection affected performance in spatial recognition or reversal learning tests. Injection with immune-stimulating lipopolysaccharide did not affect visual discrimination performance relative to saline-injected controls, suggesting that cognitive impairments are not due to an innate immune response. Our results highlight the complex, indirect role of cleaning organisms in promoting the health of their clients via ectoparasite removal and emphasize the negative impact of parasites on host's cognitive abilities.

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Parasite infestation increases on coral reefs without cleaner fish

Cited by 34 publications

References 45 publications

Current strength, temperature, and bodyscape modulate cleaning services for giant manta rays

Current strength, temperature, and bodyscape modulate cleaning services for giant manta rays

Ocean Acidification Does Not Affect Fish Ectoparasite Survival

Cleaner wrasse indirectly affect the cognitive performance of a damselfish through ectoparasite removal

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