Basel Zoologists are unveiling the colorful secrets of coral reefs: On the Australian Great Barrier Reef they discovered a coral reef fish, the dusky dottyback that flexibly adapts its coloration to mimic other fishes and in doing is able to prey on their juvenile offspring. By changing colors, the dusky dottyback also decreases its risk of being detected by predators. The study has been published in the latest issue of the renowned scientific journal Current Biology.
Basel Zoologists are unveiling the colorful secrets of coral reefs: On the Australian Great Barrier Reef they discovered a coral reef fish, the dusky dottyback that flexibly adapts its coloration to mimic other fishes and in doing is able to prey on their juvenile offspring. By changing colors, the dusky dottyback also decreases its risk of being detected by predators. The study has been published in the latest issue of the renowned scientific journal Current Biology.
A new study has shown that the dottyback, a small predatory reef fish, can change the colour of its body to imitate a variety of other reef fish species, allowing the dottyback to sneak up undetected and eat their young. The dottyback also uses its colour-changing abilities to hide from larger predators by colour-matching to the background of its habitat - disappearing into the scenery.
A new study has shown that the dottyback, a small predatory reef fish, can change the colour of its body to imitate a variety of other reef fish species, allowing the dottyback to sneak up undetected and eat their young. The dottyback also uses its colour-changing abilities to hide from larger predators by colour-matching to the background of its habitat - disappearing into the scenery.
Western Australian team investigates theory that surfers are often victims because the silhouette of their boards resembles the predators' favourite prey.
Western Australian team investigates theory that surfers are often victims because the silhouette of their boards resembles the predators' favourite prey.
Stable isotope analysis of dermis was used to examine foraging behavior of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Values of δ13C and δ15N in dermis were compared to those obtained from likely species of local prey. The δ13C values of zooplankton and nektonic taxa at Ningaloo ranged from −18.9‰ to −16.5‰ reflecting the different carbon sources (from pelagic to more inshore and benthic) entering the food web. Isotopic values also varied depending on the diet-to-tissue discrimination factor applied in the analysis. When data was corrected using factors derived from slow turnover, structural cartilage in fins, whale sharks showed a greater reliance on pelagic food webs, whereas analyses using raw data suggested a greater dietary component from benthic and inshore habitats. Variability in δ15N values (6.9‰ to 10.8‰) implied different patterns of foraging among whale sharks, likely indicating movement among foraging localities that occur at Ningaloo Reef and along the Western Australian coast. There was evidence of enrichment in 15N occurring with increasing size in males and females, a pattern that could have been due to changes in growth rate and trophic level with age and/or an ontogenetic shift in feeding grounds. Given the variability potentially induced in stable isotope values by differences in rates of turnover of tissues and the use of diet-to-tissue discrimination factors, future studies would benefit from a multi-technique approach using different tissues to identify the diet of whale sharks.