Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones

Agonistic behaviours, defined as an individual’s aggressive behavior towards a conspecific, facilitate a social ranking throughout the animal kingdom, particularly within anemonefish group. In this study, we investigated the agonistic behaviors of the specialist anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris livi...

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Main Authors: Lempereur Antoine, Nguyen Hai-Thanh Thi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2024-01-01
Series:BIO Web of Conferences
Online Access:https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/pdf/2024/66/bioconf_eafta2024_01003.pdf
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author Lempereur Antoine
Nguyen Hai-Thanh Thi
author_facet Lempereur Antoine
Nguyen Hai-Thanh Thi
author_sort Lempereur Antoine
collection DOAJ
description Agonistic behaviours, defined as an individual’s aggressive behavior towards a conspecific, facilitate a social ranking throughout the animal kingdom, particularly within anemonefish group. In this study, we investigated the agonistic behaviors of the specialist anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris living with different host anemones. Juvenile fish were exposed to their natural and unnatural host anemones in laboratory, and their agonistic behaviors were assessed through the occurrence of bites, the occurrence of chases, and the time spent in chilling behavior. The fish exhibited a higher frequency of bites and spent more time in chilling behavior (p<0.01) when residing within their natural anemone host, Stichodactyla gigantea. In contrast, when living within S. haddoni, where survival was less assured, fish exhibited more chases (p<0.05), which were less likely to injure conspecifics. The fish also engaged more in biting behavior (p<0.001) once establishing symbiosis within the natural host S. gigantea. These results suggest that biting is important to the establishment of the social hierarchy, while the chasing behavior is crucial for maintaining the hierarchy across time, which is important for reproduction potential. These findings imply that by adjusting their agonistic behavior, coral reef fish could make a trade-off between survival and reproduction in unfavorable environmental conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-06a11a66a7764f94bcc91e481a9457002025-01-16T11:19:24ZengEDP SciencesBIO Web of Conferences2117-44582024-01-011470100310.1051/bioconf/202414701003bioconf_eafta2024_01003Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host AnemonesLempereur Antoine0Nguyen Hai-Thanh Thi1Sorbonne Paris Nord UniversityInstitute for Biotechnology and Environment, Nha Trang UniversityAgonistic behaviours, defined as an individual’s aggressive behavior towards a conspecific, facilitate a social ranking throughout the animal kingdom, particularly within anemonefish group. In this study, we investigated the agonistic behaviors of the specialist anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris living with different host anemones. Juvenile fish were exposed to their natural and unnatural host anemones in laboratory, and their agonistic behaviors were assessed through the occurrence of bites, the occurrence of chases, and the time spent in chilling behavior. The fish exhibited a higher frequency of bites and spent more time in chilling behavior (p<0.01) when residing within their natural anemone host, Stichodactyla gigantea. In contrast, when living within S. haddoni, where survival was less assured, fish exhibited more chases (p<0.05), which were less likely to injure conspecifics. The fish also engaged more in biting behavior (p<0.001) once establishing symbiosis within the natural host S. gigantea. These results suggest that biting is important to the establishment of the social hierarchy, while the chasing behavior is crucial for maintaining the hierarchy across time, which is important for reproduction potential. These findings imply that by adjusting their agonistic behavior, coral reef fish could make a trade-off between survival and reproduction in unfavorable environmental conditions.https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/pdf/2024/66/bioconf_eafta2024_01003.pdf
spellingShingle Lempereur Antoine
Nguyen Hai-Thanh Thi
Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones
BIO Web of Conferences
title Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones
title_full Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones
title_fullStr Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones
title_full_unstemmed Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones
title_short Agonistic Behaviors of The Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Living with Their Host Anemones
title_sort agonistic behaviors of the anemonefish amphiprion ocellaris living with their host anemones
url https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/pdf/2024/66/bioconf_eafta2024_01003.pdf
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