The effects of parasites on the early life stages of a damselfish

Sun, Derek; Blomberg, Simon P.; Cribb, Thomas H.; McCormick, Mark I.; Grutter, Alexandra S.

doi:10.1007/s00338-012-0929-5

Cited by 17 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…It was later reported from P. amboinensis from Lizard Island (Sun et al 2012). Yamaguti, 1942, with which it may have been confused historically (Bray et al 1993a).…”

Section: Hysterolecitha Heronensis Bray Cribb and Barker 1993mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bray et al (1993a) first reported and described this species from the Pomacentridae, having discovered it in Pomacentrus moluccensis from Heron Island, while Grutter et al (2010) and Sun et al (2012) reported it from P. moluccensis and P. amboinensis from Lizard Island, respectively. Our discovery of A. laguncula from the Whitley's sergeant, Abudefduf whitleyi, represents a new host record for this species.…”

Section: Aponurus Laguncula Looss 1907mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Few studies have examined the ecology of internal parasites on coral reef fish Muñoz et al 2007). Studies by Grutter et al (2010) and Sun et al (2012) showed that there was a difference in parasite (mostly worms) prevalence with age group in the young damselfishes. These studies also demonstrated that the presence of internal parasites may have an effect on the growth rate of an individual at or during settlement.…”

Section: Ecological Importance Of Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These findings were based on a survey at Heron Island, comprising 312 individuals from 39 species. For Lizard Island on the northern GBR, where the present studies were based, nine species of trematodes from five families have been reported (Bray et al 1993b;Grutter 1994;Cribb et al 1998;Grutter et al 2010;Sun et al 2012), two of which (Lepotrema oyabitcha and Transversotrema damsella) are not known from Heron Island (Bray et al 1993b;Hunter and Cribb 2012). Despite the recording of nine species at Lizard Island, the fauna there has not been studied systematically and the limited data available suggested that there are significant differences between the northern and southern GBR.…”

Section: Parasite Diversity On Coral Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relatively few studies have been conducted elsewhere on the GBR; of these, work was primarily conducted at Lizard Island. However, unlike at Heron Island, these studies focused on individual species of damselfishes or a particular family of digenean trematode (Grutter et al 2010;Hunter and Cribb 2010;Sun et al 2012;Sun et al 2014). Thus, the trematode fauna of damselfishes at other locations on the GBR, including Lizard Island, can be considered to be under-studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parasites and cleaning behaviour in damselfishes

Sun¹

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Pomacentrids (damselfishes) are one of the most common and diverse group of marine fishes found on coral reefs. However, their digenean fauna and cleaning interactions with the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, are poorly studied. This thesis explores the digenean trematode fauna in damselfishes from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia and examines several aspects of the role of L. dimidiatus in the recruitment of young damselfishes.My first study aimed to expand our current knowledge of the digenean trematode fauna of damselfishes by examining this group of fishes from Lizard Island on the northern GBR. In a comprehensive study of the digenean trematodes of damselfishes, 358 individuals from 32 species of damselfishes were examined. I found 19 species of digeneans, 54 host/parasite combinations, 18were new host records, and three were new species (Fellodistomidae n. sp., Gyliauchenidae n. sp.and Pseudobacciger cheneyae). Combined molecular and morphological analyses show that Hysterolecitha nahaensis, the single most common trematode, comprises a complex of cryptic species rather than just one species. This work highlights the importance of using both techniques in conjunction in order to identify digenean species. The host-specificity of digeneans within this group of fishes is relatively low. Most of the species possess either euryxenic (infecting multiple related species) or stenoxenic (infecting a diverse range of hosts) specificity, with only a handful of species being convincingly oioxenic (only found in one host species). Overall, the trematode richness in pomacentrid fishes is relatively low compared with that of many other coral reef fish families. The richness is probably best explained by the small size of most pomacentrids. In terms of beta diversity, of the total 23 trematode species having now been reported for the GBR in pomacentrids, just 14 are shared between Heron and Lizard Island. Five species have been recorded only from Lizard Island and four only from Heron Island. A total of 14 species reported from the two sites can be classified as core pomacentrid-specific parasites.I then examined whether the abundance and diversity of damselfish recruits differed on reefs relative to reefs from which cleaner wrasse had been removed for 12 years. Past studies have shown that cleaner wrasse enhance abundance and diversity of adult resident damselfishes (species that are site-attached), however, it is not known whether this effect occurs at recruitment or is driven by post-settlement events such as migration or differential mortality. I characterised the abundance of damselfish recruits on reefs with and without cleaner wrasse for five days in each of three lunar cycles, beginning four days after the new moon (November, December and January). The total abundance of damselfish recruits and specifically two species, Chrysiptera rollandi and P. amboinensis, was higher on reefs with cleaner wrasse than on reefs without. However, overall iii species diversity of damself...

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“…It was later reported from P. amboinensis from Lizard Island (Sun et al 2012). Yamaguti, 1942, with which it may have been confused historically (Bray et al 1993a).…”

Section: Hysterolecitha Heronensis Bray Cribb and Barker 1993mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aponurus Laguncula Looss 1907mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ecological Importance Of Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Parasite Diversity On Coral Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parasites and cleaning behaviour in damselfishes

Sun¹

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The Ecological Significance of Parasitic Crustaceans

Sikkel

Welicky

2019

Parasitic Crustacea

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Cleaner wrasse influence habitat selection of young damselfish

et al. 2015

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The presence of bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, on coral reefs increases total abundance and biodiversity of reef fishes. The mechanism(s) that cause such shifts in population structure are unclear, but it is possible that young fish preferentially settle into microhabitats where cleaner wrasse are present. As a first step to investigate this possibility, we conducted aquarium experiments to examine whether settlement-stage and young juveniles of ambon damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis, selected a microhabitat near a cleaner wrasse (adult or juvenile). Both settlement-stage (0 d post-settlement) and juvenile (~ 5 weeks post-settlement) fish spent a greater proportion of time in a microhabitat adjacent to L. dimidiatus than in one next to a control fish (a non-cleaner wrasse, Halichoeres melanurus) or one where no fish was present. This suggests that cleaner wrasse may serve as a positive cue during microhabitat selection. We also conducted focal observations of cleaner wrasse and counts of nearby damselfishes (1 m radius) to examine whether newly-settled fish obtained direct benefits, in the form of cleaning services, from being near a cleaner wrasse. Although abundant, newly-settled recruits (<20 mm total length) were rarely (2%) observed being cleaned per 20 min observations compared with larger damselfishes (58%). Individual damselfish that were cleaned were significantly larger than the median size of the surrounding nearby non-cleaned conspecifics; this was consistent across four species. The selection by settlement-stage fish of a microhabitat adjacent to cleaner wrasse in the laboratory, despite only being rarely cleaned in the natural environment, suggests that even rare cleaning events and/or indirect benefits may drive their settlement choices. This behaviour may also explain the decreased abundance of young fishes on reefs from which cleaner wrasse had been experimentally removed. This study reinforces the potentially important role of mutualism during the processes of settlement and recruitment of young reef fishes.

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The effects of parasites on the early life stages of a damselfish

Cited by 17 publications

References 60 publications

Parasites and cleaning behaviour in damselfishes

Parasites and cleaning behaviour in damselfishes

The Ecological Significance of Parasitic Crustaceans

Cleaner wrasse influence habitat selection of young damselfish

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