Mutualism alters fish behavior

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 month 3 weeks (www.nature.com)

A type of fish called the cleaner wrasse seems to haev a calming effect on local predators. The wrasse eat parasites off the scales of larger fish and even provide what Nature writers have called "a calming massage" with their fins. In return, the client fish keep returning to the wrasses' territory to provide them with more food.

However, what researchers have recently noticed is that client fish stop hunting each other while in wrasse territory--even while they are waiting to be served.

Keywords: fish animal behavior ecology ecosystems mutualism symbiosis marine biology