You are what you eat: diet-induced chemical crypsis in a coral-feeding reef fish

Brooker, Rohan M., Munday, Philip L., Chivers, Douglas P., and Jones, Geoffrey P. (2015) You are what you eat: diet-induced chemical crypsis in a coral-feeding reef fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 282 (1799). 20141887.

[img] PDF (Published Version) - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

View at Publisher Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1887
 
17
6


Abstract

The vast majority of research into the mechanisms of camouflage has focused on forms that confound visual perception. However, many organisms primarily interact with their surroundings using chemosensory systems and may have evolved mechanisms to 'blend in' with chemical components of their habitat. One potential mechanism is 'chemical crypsis' via the sequestration of dietary elements, causing a consumer's odour to chemically match that of its prey. Here, we test the potential for chemical crypsis in the coral-feeding filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris, by examining olfactory discrimination in obligate coral-dwelling crabs and a predatory cod. The crabs, which inhabit the corals consumed by O. longirostris, were used as a bioassay to determine the effect of coral diet on fish odour. Crabs preferred the odour of filefish fed their preferred coral over the odour of filefish fed a non-preferred coral, suggesting coral-specific dietary elements that influence odour are sequestered. Crabs also exhibited a similar preference for the odour of filefish fed their preferred coral and odour directly from that coral, suggesting a close chemical match. In behavioural trials, predatory cod were less attracted to filefish odour when presented alongside the coral it had been fed on, suggesting diet can reduce detectability. This is, we believe, the first evidence of diet-induced chemical crypsis in a vertebrate.

Item ID: 38104
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1471-2954
Keywords: camouflage; predator–prey interactions; olfaction; coral reefs; Oxymonacanthus longirostris; Acropora
Funders: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARC CoE Coral Reef Studies), Ecological Society of Australia
Research Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.911p1
Date Deposited: 21 Apr 2015 01:23
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 50%
05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0501 Ecological Applications > 050101 Ecological Impacts of Climate Change @ 50%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 50%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960399 Climate and Climate Change not elsewhere classified @ 50%
Downloads: Total: 6
More Statistics

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page Item Control Page