Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount.
Interactions between pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) and cleaner wrasse were investigated at a seamount in the Philippines. Cleaning associations between sharks and teleosts are poorly understood, but the observable interactions seen at this site may explain why these mainly oceanic shar...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2011-03-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3056710?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819079993135726592 |
|---|---|
| author | Simon P Oliver Nigel E Hussey John R Turner Alison J Beckett |
| author_facet | Simon P Oliver Nigel E Hussey John R Turner Alison J Beckett |
| author_sort | Simon P Oliver |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Interactions between pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) and cleaner wrasse were investigated at a seamount in the Philippines. Cleaning associations between sharks and teleosts are poorly understood, but the observable interactions seen at this site may explain why these mainly oceanic sharks regularly venture into shallow coastal waters where they are vulnerable to disturbance from human activity. From 1,230 hours of observations recorded by remote video camera between July 2005 and December 2009, 97 cleaner-thresher shark events were analyzed, 19 of which were interrupted. Observations of pelagic thresher sharks interacting with cleaners at the seamount were recorded at all times of day but their frequency declined gradually from morning until evening. Cleaners showed preferences for foraging on specific areas of a thresher shark's body. For all events combined, cleaners were observed to conduct 2,757 inspections, of which 33.9% took place on the shark's pelvis, 23.3% on the pectoral fins, 22.3% on the caudal fin, 8.6% on the body, 8.3% on the head, 2.1% on the dorsal fin, and 1.5% on the gills respectively. Cleaners did not preferentially inspect thresher sharks by time of day or by shark sex, but there was a direct correlation between the amount of time a thresher shark spent at a cleaning station and the number of inspections it received. Thresher shark clients modified their behavior by "circular-stance-swimming," presumably to facilitate cleaner inspections. The cleaner-thresher shark association reflected some of the known behavioral trends in the cleaner-reef teleost system since cleaners appeared to forage selectively on shark clients. Evidence is mounting that in addition to acting as social refuges and foraging grounds for large visiting marine predators, seamounts may also support pelagic ecology by functioning as cleaning stations for oceanic sharks and rays. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T19:37:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b4af127177b4da89f4b816321187953 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T19:37:48Z |
| publishDate | 2011-03-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b4af127177b4da89f4b8163211879532022-12-21T18:52:33ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-03-0163e1475510.1371/journal.pone.0014755Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount.Simon P OliverNigel E HusseyJohn R TurnerAlison J BeckettInteractions between pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) and cleaner wrasse were investigated at a seamount in the Philippines. Cleaning associations between sharks and teleosts are poorly understood, but the observable interactions seen at this site may explain why these mainly oceanic sharks regularly venture into shallow coastal waters where they are vulnerable to disturbance from human activity. From 1,230 hours of observations recorded by remote video camera between July 2005 and December 2009, 97 cleaner-thresher shark events were analyzed, 19 of which were interrupted. Observations of pelagic thresher sharks interacting with cleaners at the seamount were recorded at all times of day but their frequency declined gradually from morning until evening. Cleaners showed preferences for foraging on specific areas of a thresher shark's body. For all events combined, cleaners were observed to conduct 2,757 inspections, of which 33.9% took place on the shark's pelvis, 23.3% on the pectoral fins, 22.3% on the caudal fin, 8.6% on the body, 8.3% on the head, 2.1% on the dorsal fin, and 1.5% on the gills respectively. Cleaners did not preferentially inspect thresher sharks by time of day or by shark sex, but there was a direct correlation between the amount of time a thresher shark spent at a cleaning station and the number of inspections it received. Thresher shark clients modified their behavior by "circular-stance-swimming," presumably to facilitate cleaner inspections. The cleaner-thresher shark association reflected some of the known behavioral trends in the cleaner-reef teleost system since cleaners appeared to forage selectively on shark clients. Evidence is mounting that in addition to acting as social refuges and foraging grounds for large visiting marine predators, seamounts may also support pelagic ecology by functioning as cleaning stations for oceanic sharks and rays.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3056710?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Simon P Oliver Nigel E Hussey John R Turner Alison J Beckett Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount. PLoS ONE |
| title | Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount. |
| title_full | Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount. |
| title_fullStr | Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount. |
| title_short | Oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount. |
| title_sort | oceanic sharks clean at coastal seamount |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3056710?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT simonpoliver oceanicsharkscleanatcoastalseamount AT nigelehussey oceanicsharkscleanatcoastalseamount AT johnrturner oceanicsharkscleanatcoastalseamount AT alisonjbeckett oceanicsharkscleanatcoastalseamount |