Cleaning by the wrasse Thalassoma noronhanum, with two records of predation by its grouper client Cephalopholis fulva

• Published in: Journal of fish biology Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. 802 - 809
• Main Authors: Francini-Filho, R. B., Moura, R. L., Sazima, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2000; Blackwell
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; cleaning stations; cleaning symbiosis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Labridae; predation; Serranidae; Vertebrata; South America; Brazil; South Atlantic; Atlantic Ocean; America; Marine environment; Predator prey relation; Piscivorous; Vertebrata; Symbiotic relation; Herbivorous; Pisces; Cleaning symbiosis; Planktonophagous; Predation
• ISSN: 0022-1112; 1095-8649
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2000.tb00873.x

The Noronha wrasse Thalassoma noronhanum was recorded cleaning 19 client fish species at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, o. north–eastern Brazil. The preferred clients were non–dangerous, mostly planktivorous species, whereas the potentially dangerous, predatory species were rarely cleaned. T. noronhanum acts as a cleaner in two distinct ecological situations, at and outside the cleaning stations, and attends different client species in each of them. Potentially dangerous clients were mostly attended outside the cleaning stations. Many attacks and two instances of predation on the cleaner wrasse by the grouper client Cephalopholis fulva were recorded. The attacks occurred on individual wrasses foraging near the bottom outside the cleaning stations.