(Image by Klaus Stiefel via Flickr CC 2.0 BY NC)
Death and degradation of coral reefs bring about a major lifestyle change for the entire ecosystem; some local fish are then learn new behaviours from their peers, as results of a new study suggest. Researchers studied six species of damselfish, two of which lived in live coral, two inhabited rubble (dead coral), and others could be found in both types of habitat. Their findings showed that fish that typically inhabits live coral lose their ability to use alarm cues necessary for predator avoidance when forced to live on rubble. However, some live-coral fish are still able to use the alarm cues from their rubble-inhabiting cousins.
Authors:
Maud C. O. Ferrari, Mark I. McCormick, Bridie J. M. Allan, Douglas P. Chivers
Corresponding author:
Maud Ferrari, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Email: maud.ferrari@usask.ca
Original paper published in the Proceedings of The Royal Society B on April 12, 2017.
