Comparison of mortality and feeding behavior of the false cleanerfish Aspidontus taeniatus and the lance blenny A. dussumieri regarding the effects of mimicry.

Many examples of mimicry have been reported in coral reef fishes of which the most well known is the mimicry of the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus by the false cleanerfish, Aspidontus taeniatus. To examine the effect of protective and aggressive mimicry of A. taeniatus, mortality and feeding behavior were compared with those of the non-mimic lance blenny, Aspidontus dussumieri, by field observations on the coral reefs of Miyako Island, Okinawa, southern Japan. Survival rate of A. taeniatus was more than twice higher than that of A. dussumieri, but the detected differences were not significant, and the effect of protective mimicry could not be determined. The benthic foods common to both species (the tubeworm, Spirobranchus giganteus, and the boring clam, Tridacna crocea) were very scarce in the study sites, and the feeding behavior of the two species was clearly different: A. dussumieri pecked at the bottom substrate, whereas A. taeniatus fed on fish fins and eggs of damselfish, regardless of body size. Our findings are the first documented evidence of the effect of aggressive mimicry on biting fish fins in relation to the availability of other foods not only in small but also in large A. taeniatus. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10164-022-00769-8.

Large host anemones can be shelters of a diverse assemblage of fish species, not just anemonefish.

The mutualistic relationships between anemonefish (Amphiprion; Pomacentridae) and host sea anemones are well known, but host anemones are also used as shelter by damselfish (Pomacentridae), wrasses (Labridae) and cardinalfish (Apogonidae). The threespot dascyllus Dascyllus trimaculatus (Pomacentridae) is known to live on or near host anemones in their immature phase. Nonetheless, detailed studies on the use of host anemones by other fish species have not yet been conducted. To understand the factors that influence the use of host anemones by other fish species, this study investigated the fish biota around host anemones in the Ryukyu Archipelago. Other than Amphiprion spp. and D. trimaculatus, 10 additional species of fish (9 species of damselfish and 1 species of cardinalfish) were confirmed to temporarily use host anemones as shelter, and five species of wrasse including Labroides dimidiatus came to clean anemonefish. Logistic regression analyses (independent variable: presence or absence of other species of fish; dependent variables: anemonefish aggressiveness, size of host anemone, number of D. trimaculatus) indicated that the size of host anemones is important for the presence of fish, both in species using the anemone as temporary shelter and in cleaner species. Large host anemones can provide shelter and food resources for other species of coral reef fish as well as for anemonefish.

The false cleanerfish relies on aggressive mimicry to bite fish fins when benthic foods are scarce in their local habitat.

The false cleanerfish, Aspidontus taeniatus (Blenniidae), is known for its morphological resemblance to the bluestreak cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus (Labridae). It has been suggested that A. taeniatus, which acts as a mimic, can easily bite the fins of other fishes that are deceived into requesting cleaning from it or allowing it to approach them. In fact, A. taeniatus frequently utilises benthic food items, such as damselfish eggs, the Christmas tree worm Spirobranchus giganteus, and the boring clam Tridacna crocea. Although geographical variation in the reliance on aggressive mimicry (fin biting) has been reported, the factors have not been determined. We hypothesised that one of the factors is the abundance of benthic food items. To examine our hypothesis, we compared the feeding behaviour of A. taeniatus at two locations showing contrasting abundances of benthic food items in Okinawa, southern Japan. The frequency of fin biting by the small A. taeniatus in Ishigaki Island, where S. giganteus and T. crocea were very rare, was significantly higher than that in Sesoko Island, where the two food items were abundant. We conclude that the importance of aggressive mimicry in A. taeniatus varies depending on local food conditions.

Testing the low-density hypothesis for reversed sex change in polygynous fish: experiments in Labroides dimidiatus.

Hermaphroditism is ubiquitous among plants and widespread in the animal kingdom. It is an unsolved problem why reversed sex change has evolved in polygynous and protogynous reef fish. We have previously suggested that facultative monogamy occurs in low-density populations of polygynous species and that males that become single as a result of accidental mate loss may change sex when they meet larger males. In this study, to test this 'low-density hypothesis', we conducted field experiments with the coral reef fish Labroides dimidiatus in which a portion of females were removed to create a low-density situation. The 'widowed' males moved to search for a new mate when no male, female or juvenile fish migrated into their territories and paired with nearby single fish, whether male or female. Alternatively, males expanded their territories to take over the nearest pair whose male was much smaller. These results support our low-density hypothesis.

Reversed sex change by widowed males in polygynous and protogynous fishes: female removal experiments in the field.

Sex change, either protogyny (female to male) or protandry (male to female), is well known among fishes, but evidence of bidirectional sex change or reversed sex change in natural populations is still very limited. This is the first report on female removal experiments for polygnous and protogynous fish species to induce reversed sex change in the widowed males in the field. We removed all of the females and juveniles from the territories of dominant males in the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus (Labridae) and the rusty angelfish Centropyge ferrugata (Pomacanthidae) on the coral reefs of Okinawa. In both species, if new females or juveniles did not immigrate into the territories of the widowed males, some of them emigrated to form male-male pairs. When a male-male pair formed, the smaller, subordinate partner began to perform female sexual behaviours (n = 4 in L. dimidiatus; n = 2 in C. ferrugata) and, finally, released eggs (n = 1, respectively). Thus, the reversed sex change occurred in the widowed males according to the change of their social status. These results suggest that such female removal experiments will contribute to the discovery of reversed sex change in the field also in other polygnous and protogynous species.

Sexually dichromatic protogynous angelfish Centropyge ferrugata (Pomacanthidae) males can change back to females.

Protogynous hermaphroditism, female-to-male sex change, is well known among reef fishes where large males monopolize harems of females. When the dominant male disappears from a harem, the largest female may change sex within a few weeks. Recently, from experiments with some protogynous haremic fishes in which two males' cohabitated, it was confirmed that sexual behavior and gonads were completely reversible according to individual social status. However, the ability to reverse secondary-developed sexual body coloration has never been examined in any protogynous fish. We conducted two male cohabitation experiments with the protogynous haremic angelfish, Centropyge ferrugata, which has conspicuous sexual dichromatism on the dorsal fin. Smaller males of C. ferrugata soon performed female-specific mating behaviors when they became subordinated after losing a contest. They then completed gonadal sex change to females 47 or 89 d (n=2) after beginning cohabitation. In the course of the reversed gonadal sex change, male-specific coloration on the dorsal fin changed to that of a female. Thus, the sex of C. ferrugata, including secondary developed sexually dichromatic characteristics, can be completely reversible in accord with their social status.