학술논문

Turtle cleaners: reef fishes foraging on epibionts of sea turtles in the tropical Southwestern Atlantic, with a summary of this association type
Document Type
article
Source
Neotropical Ichthyology. March 2010 8(1)
Subject
Cleaning symbiosis
Foraging association
Cheloniidae
Tropical Western Atlantic
Language
English
ISSN
1679-6225
Abstract
In the present study we record several instances of reef fish species foraging on epibionts of sea turtles (cleaning symbiosis) at the oceanic islands of Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and near a shipwreck, both off the coast of Pernambuco State, northeast Brazil. Nine reef fish species and three turtle species involved in cleaning are herein recorded. Besides our records, a summary of the literature on this association type is presented. Postures adopted by turtles during the interaction are related to the habits of associated fishes. Feeding associations between fishes and turtles seem a localized, albeit common, phenomenon.