Science Daily
June 21, 2010
June 21, 2010
Hiroki Hata from Ehime University Japan investigated the behavior a type of Damsel Fish called Stegastes Nigricans. They found that it could selectively weed different algae gardens. "We surveyed 320 territories of 18 damselfish species and thoroughly examined algae from each fish territory from coral reefs in Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, the Maldives, Thailand, Borneo, the Okinawa Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. We found that although the crop alga species shifted in the West Indian Ocean, the intensive farming by damselfish was seen throughout this geographic range." Said Mr.Hata. The damsel fish don't have the rite digestive system to grind up the algae fibers it eats. The most common type of algae it can eat is the Red algae Polysiphonia, which isn't very territorial. Instead of dying out the fish have found a way to adapt. The damsel fish help the plant by killing off their rivals, or "gardening". This mutual relationship provides the damsel fish with an easy source of food and the algae gets more latitude to grow. When coming up with the results a satisfied Hata said "Obligate reciprocal interaction between marine algae and herbivorous damsel fish, called 'cultivation mutualism' was found to be largely maintained in the Indo-West Pacific." This is just one of the many fantastic relationships between animals.
I chose this article because it was a great example of adaptation and mutuality. Instead of dying out the damsel fish found a way to increase the likeliness of its food growing. It amazes me that a small fish can find a way to increases its chance of living. Fishes brains are probably a hundredth of what ours are and sometimes I think they're smarter then us!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100617194322.htm
Hahaha. I agree Sophie. For me fish are the coolest. :) Great article summary and connections to our unit.
ReplyDelete