Presentation Details
| From Solitary to Social: How Intragroup Context Alters Cleaning Behavior in Ancylomenes pedersoni Miya L.Ball, Eleanor M.Caves. Brown University, Providence, RI, USA |
Abstract
Cleaner shrimp inhabit coral reefs, where they remove and consume parasites and dead skin from reef fish (clients). The cleaner shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni lives on sea anemones in groups of one to nine individuals; observations in nature suggest individuals vary in how frequently they signal to clients to initiate cleaning and perform cleaning behaviors with multiple shrimp often cleaning simultaneously. Most studies, however, have focused on a single, focal shrimp per station, thus excluding group dynamics. This raises the question: how do individual differences and group composition interact to shape cleaning interactions? To address this, I quantified signaling and cleaning behaviors in individuals and tested whether these behaviors change when shrimp are put into groups. I then examined whether individual body size, the group’s mean body size, and the size of the largest individual influenced group behavior. I found that both signaling and cleaning differed between contexts, with most shrimp reducing their activity in groups, and when in a group, the mean body size of a group and the size of the largest individual in a group have important effects on signaling and cleaning.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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