![]() The cleaning system is a classic model of cooperative behaviour among species in which cleaner fish remove ectoparasites and dead or infected tissue from the surface, gills, and sometimes the mouth of client fish (Soares et al. Ectoparasitic infections in captive elasmobranchs cause behavioural modifications such as rubbing against the structures of enclosures and interacting with cleaner fish (Keyes 1982 Reed et al. These include skin lesions, necrosis, anaemia, respiratory disease, and chronic bacterial and viral infections that have been reported as lethal in some species (Caira and Healy 2004 Garner 2013). Rays, including giant manta rays, are known to host metazoan parasites (Caira and Healy 2004), and it is proposed that they visit a cleaning station at this site to control infection.īatoid rays infected with parasites suffer a variety of health consequences. For the past two decades, giant manta rays have been observed by SCUBA divers on Monad Shoal, which is a shallow coastal seamount in the Central Visayas of the Philippines, where they interact with blue streaked cleaner and moon wrasse ( Labroides dimidiatus and Thalassoma lunare) (Acebes et al. Recognised from fisheries and by-catch to frequent tropical and subtropical offshore waters circumglobally, giant manta rays mature late, have low fecundity, and are classified as Vulnerable to Extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) Red List of Species (Marshall et al. Reaching 6.70 m in total (disc) width, the ray is popular among tourists for its size and approachable behaviour. The giant manta ray ( Mobula birostris) is one of two recognised manta ray species (Marshall 2009). 2008 Oliver and Bicskos 2014 Wells et al. While the ecological mechanisms that attract elasmobranchs to seamounts are poorly understood, it has been suggested that they provide refuge, represent social convergence points, act as navigational waypoints, and function as mating, feeding, and nursery grounds for a variety of pelagic species (Worm et al. 2010) and have been identified as important staging areas for migrant marine megafauna (Worm et al. Seamounts are widely regarded as hotspots of biodiversity due to the unique oceanographic conditions that they generate (Morato et al. The seamount provides habitat that appears to be important to the life history strategies of the region’s giant manta rays. Giant mantas’ fidelity to this site may also be attributed to localised concentrations of food that are available nearby. The exclusivity with which giant manta rays visited a particular cleaning station on the seamount may be a response to the quality of services that cleaners provide there. Cleaners’ foraging preferences may indicate ectoparasitic infections in specific areas of a manta ray’s body. dimidiatus also demonstrating slight preferences for the pectoral fins. Blue streaked cleaner wrasse ( Labroides dimidiatus) and moon wrasse ( Thalassoma lunare) selectively foraged on manta rays’ gills and pelvis, with L. ![]() The frequency with which giant manta rays interacted with cleaner fish varied on an individual basis. Cleaning events occurred between 11:00 and 16:00 h on a seasonal basis and were constrained by current strengths and ambient water temperatures. Using remote video, we investigated interactions between giant manta rays (Mobula birostris) and cleaner wrasse at a seamount in the Philippines. The cleaner–client system among reef teleosts has received considerable attention in both wild and captive environments, but the spatially and taxonomically diverse associations between cleaner fish and elasmobranchs are less understood.
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