Predation strategies of larval clownfish capturing evasive copepod prey

Robinson, H. Eve; Strickler, J. Rudi; Henderson, Mark J.; Hartline, Daniel K.; Lenz, Petra H.

doi:10.3354/meps12888

Cited by 13 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…The prey must determine whether a disturbance is a true threat, and therefore, whether and how to escape [60,61]. Our study demonstrates that a calanoid copepod can use minute hydrodynamic cues to detect and direct its escape away from a stealthily approaching larval fish, well before the fish is within its typical striking distance of 1 mm [41]. Our hydrodynamic model estimated the deformation rate of water around the copepod at the instant of its escape by accounting for viscous and inertial effects.…”

Section: Prey Sensitivitymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Predator -prey interactions were investigated in experimental trials between larval fish ages 1 to 14 days post-hatch (dph) and the three developmental stage-classes of B. similis prey. We designated fish into early (1 -4 dph), mid (6-9 dph) and late (11-14 dph) stages based on species-specific changes in size, diet and jaw morphology [41,44,45]. A. ocellaris is a social fish, so to observe natural feeding behaviour, we placed two fish at a time in the 700-ml observation chamber (glass and acrylic cylinder, 20 cm in diameter, 2.5 cm in height), along with 0.1-0.4 copepods ml 21 .…”

Section: Behavioural Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Going with the flow: hydrodynamic cues trigger directed escapes from a stalking predator

Tuttle

Robinson

Takagi

et al. 2019

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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In the coevolution of predator and prey, different and less well-understood rules for threat assessment apply to freely suspended organisms than to substrate-dwelling ones. Particularly vulnerable are small prey carried with the bulk movement of a surrounding fluid and thus deprived of sensory information within the bow waves of approaching predators. Some planktonic prey have solved this apparent problem, however. We quantified cues generated by the slow approach of larval clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) that triggered a calanoid copepod (Bestiolina similis) to escape before the fish could strike. To estimate water deformation around the copepod immediately preceding its jump, we represented the body of the fish as a rigid sphere in a hydrodynamic model that we parametrized with measurements of fish size, approach speed and distance to the copepod. Copepods of various developmental stages (CII-CVI) were sensitive to the water flow caused by the live predator, at deformation rates as low as 0.04 s 21 . This rate is far lower than that predicted from experiments that used artificial predator-mimics. Additionally, copepods localized the source, with 87% of escapes directed away (greater than or equal to 908) from the predator. Thus, copepods' survival in life-threatening situations relied on their detection of small nonlinear signals within an environment of locally linear deformation.royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsif J. R. Soc. Interface 16: 20180776

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Section: Prey Sensitivitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Behavioural Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going with the flow: hydrodynamic cues trigger directed escapes from a stalking predator

Tuttle

Robinson

Takagi

et al. 2019

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Damselfish larvae begin exogenous feeding soon after hatching and predominantly prey upon evasive copepods (Anto, Majoris, & Turingan, ; Buskey, Lenz, & Hartline, ; Carassou et al, ; Jackson & Lenz, ; Sampey et al, ). Neither larval nor adult damselfishes use filter‐feeding, but instead capture individual zooplankters using rapid feeding strikes (Bradley, Strickler, Buskey, & Lenz, ; Cooper et al, ; Coughlin & Strickler, ; Holzman & Wainwright, ; Lenz & Hartline, ; Robinson, Strickler, Henderson, Hartline, & Lenz, ; Yen, Murphy, Fan, & Webster, ). These strikes are significantly faster than those that can be produced by benthic‐feeding adult damselfishes (Cooper et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A developmental transition from fast, pelagic feeding to benthic feeding using high bite forces has been documented in two damselfish species: Amphiprion ocellaris and A. percula . Adults of A. ocellaris feed heavily from the benthos (Sano et al, ) and exhibit slow feeding strikes (Cooper et al, ), but their larvae utilize very rapid strikes when capturing copepods (Robinson et al, ). Their morphology is nearly identical to that of their sister species, A. percula (Figure ; Allen, ), which suggests that their adult diets are highly similar since head shape and diet are closely linked in damselfishes (Cooper & Westneat, ; Cooper et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional morphogenesis from embryos to adults: Late development shapes trophic niche in coral reef damselfishes

Cooper

VanHall

Sweet

et al. 2019

Evolution and Development

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The damselfishes are one of the dominant coral reef fish lineages. Their ecological diversification has involved repeated transitions between pelagic feeding using fast bites and benthic feeding using forceful bites. A highly‐integrative approach that combined gene expression assays, shape analyses, and high‐speed video analyses was used to examine the development of trophic morphology in embryonic, larval, juvenile, and adult damselfishes. The anatomical characters that distinguish pelagic‐feeding and benthic‐feeding species do not appear until after larval development. Neither patterns of embryonic jaw morphogenesis, larval skull shapes nor larval bite mechanics significantly distinguished damselfishes from different adult trophic guilds. Analyses of skull shape and feeding performance identified two important transitions in the trophic development of a single species (the orange clownfish; Amphiprion percula): (a) a pronounced transformation in feeding mechanics during metamorphosis; and (b) more protracted cranial remodeling over the course of juvenile development. The results of this study indicate that changes in postlarval morphogenesis have played an important role in damselfish evolution. This is likely to be true for other fish lineages, particularly if they consist of marine species, the majority of which have planktonic larvae with different functional requirements for feeding in comparison to their adult forms.

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“…Previous studies of feeding success by larval fish have focused on their interactions with non-evasive prey (Hernández 2000; Krebs and Turingan 2003; China and Holzman 2014; China et al 2017) although several studies have reported on interactions between copepods and clownfish larvae (Jackson and Lenz 2016; Robinson et al 2019; Tuttle et al 2019). In small marine larvae that hatch from pelagic eggs, the hydrodynamic environment (denoted by Re) is the dominant factor that determines larval kinematics and prey capture performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suction feeding performance and prey escape response interact to determine feeding success in larval fish

Sommerfeld

Holzman

2019

Preprint

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The survival of larval marine fishes during early development is strongly dependent on their ability to capture prey. Most larval fish capture prey by expanding their mouth cavity, generating a “suction flow” that draws the prey into their mouth. Larval fish dwell in a hydrodynamic regime of low Reynolds numbers, which has been shown to impede their ability to capture non-evasive prey. However, the marine environment is characterized by an abundance of evasive prey such as Copepods. These organisms can sense the hydrodynamic disturbance created by approaching predators and perform high-acceleration escape maneuvers. Using a 3D high-speed video system, we characterized the interaction between 8-33 day post hatchingSparus auratalarvae and prey from a natural zooplankton assemblage that contained evasive prey, and assessed the factors that determine the outcome of these interactions. Larvae showed strong selectivity for large prey that was moving prior to the initialization of the strike. As previously shown in studies with non-evasive prey, larval feeding success increased with increasing Reynolds numbers. However, larval feeding success was also strongly dependent on the prey’s escape response. Feeding success was lower for larger, more evasive prey, indicating that larvae might be challenged in capturing their preferred prey. The kinematics of successful strikes resulted in shorter response time but higher hydrodynamic signature available for the prey. Thus, despite being “noisier”, successful strikes on evasive prey depended on preceding the prey’s escape response. Our results show that larval performance, rather than larval preferences, determines their diet during early development.

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Predation strategies of larval clownfish capturing evasive copepod prey

Cited by 13 publications

References 76 publications

Going with the flow: hydrodynamic cues trigger directed escapes from a stalking predator

Going with the flow: hydrodynamic cues trigger directed escapes from a stalking predator

Functional morphogenesis from embryos to adults: Late development shapes trophic niche in coral reef damselfishes

Suction feeding performance and prey escape response interact to determine feeding success in larval fish

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