Interspecific Aggression between Juveniles of Two Caribbean Damselfish Species (Genus Stegastes)

Draud, Matthew; Itzkowitz, Murray

doi:10.2307/1446906

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similarly to S. fuscus (Osório et al 2006), the agonistic behaviors employed by S. rocasensis varied according to the trophic category of intruders. This result is in accordance with other studies, which forecasted that territorial aggression will escalate based on the degree of ecological overlap with the species entering the territory (Orians and Wilson 1964;Ebersole 1977;Harrington and Losey 1990;Draud and Itzkowitz 1995). The more moderate agonistic behavior against intruders of larger size by S. rocasensis reveals the use of a graded response to threats (see Helfman 1989), as also found in a species of butterflyfish (see Yabuta 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Habitat use, feeding and territorial behavior of a Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis (Actinopterygii: Pomacentridae)

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents the results of the first field study of the Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis. Underwater data were collected at the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (NE Brazil), where four sites were visually assayed for local territorial and feeding behaviors, as well as habitat use. S. rocasensis preferentially fed on turf and macroalgae, and during the afternoon period. Its territory size ranged from 0.26 to 13.86 m 2 (1.61± 0.23 m 2 ). Our findings suggest that adults preferably inhabit shallow, turf-rich areas, while sub-adults and juveniles occupy deeper areas with higher percent cover of invertebrates and hard corals, respectively. With regards to agonistic behaviors, pursuit of intruders was the most frequent reaction recorded (p< 0.001); the highest level of aggression was elicited by territorial herbivores (p<0.001). Nevertheless, analysis of attacks elicited by different fish species within S. rocasensis' territory showed that more attacks were launched on conspecifics than on other fish species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Habitat use, feeding and territorial behavior of a Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis (Actinopterygii: Pomacentridae)

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Both the algae that S. fuscus fed on and the number of times that biting occurred were recorded. Standard agonistic behaviours were selected a priori , based on previous studies on pomacentrids, namely by Sale et al (1980), Robertson (1984), Draud et al (1990) and Draud & Itzkowitz (1995) and on a pilot survey conducted in the study area. Standard behaviours (pursuit, bite and lateral display) served as the basis to characterize both feeding and agonistic interactions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ‘bottle presentation’ method, in which a specimen is placed in a glass bottle and presented to the focal territorial fish (Myrberg & Thresher, 1974), was used to study the attacks on the intruder species, following Draud & Itzkowitz (1995), Sale et al (1980) and Harrington (1993). Agonistic behaviour of each focal animal was observed for 2 min, and both the type of attack and its frequency were recorded.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territorial defence by the Brazilian damselStegastes fuscus(Teleostei: Pomacentridae)

Osorio

Rosa

Cabral

2006

Journal of Fish Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Territorial defence by Brazilian damselfish Stegastes fuscus was studied in north-east Brazil through underwater observations. The fish mostly fed on Gellidium sp. and strongly defended a territory with a mean size of 2 m 2 (range 1Á27-3Á07 m 2 ); its mean AE S.D. feeding rate was 8Á73 AE 2Á44 bites min À1 . Stegastes fuscus responded similarly to all intruding fish species, with aggressive behaviour becoming more pronounced only with an increase in the number of fishes in the sampled area. Analysis of attacks elicited by different fish species placed within S. fuscus' territory, however, showed that it launched more attacks on conspecifics than on other fishes.

show abstract

“…The benthic community within their territories differs from that of the surrounding substrata by showing higher nutritional resources (Vine, 1974; Robertson et al , 1976; Brawley & Adey, 1977; Lassuy, 1980; Hixon & Brostoff, 1981, 1982; Sammarco, 1983; Hinds & Ballantine, 1987; Klumpp et al , 1987; Klumpp & Polunin, 1989; Ferreira et al , 1998; Ceccarelli et al , 2001, 2005; Ceccarelli, 2007). As a consequence, these fishes actively defend their territories against intruders, which are attracted by high food availability (Harrington & Losey, 1990; Draud & Itzkowitz, 1995; Ferreira et al , 1998; Osório et al , 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat use and behavioural ecology of the juveniles of two sympatric damselfishes (Actinopterygii: Pomacentridae) in the south‐western Atlantic Ocean

Medeiros

Souza

Ilarri

2010

Journal of Fish Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial distribution, microhabitat use and territorial and feeding behaviours were compared between the juveniles of two sympatric territorial damselfishes Stegastes variabilis and Stegastes fuscus on a small tropical reef in the south-western Atlantic Ocean. Juvenile S. variabilis were most abundant at sites subject to stronger hydrodynamics and with mixed benthic cover, whereas juvenile S. fuscus were most abundant at sheltered sites with dense turf algae cover. No differences regarding feeding habits were detected, with both species preferentially feeding on turf algae. Also, despite similarities in territory area and agonistic encounter rates, the identity and proportion of intruders involved in agonistic interactions differed significantly between species. These interdependent traits suggest strong asymmetric competition, with juvenile S. fuscus dominating high-quality sites and evicting juvenile S. variabilis to low quality, marginal areas of the reef.

show abstract

Interspecific Aggression between Juveniles of Two Caribbean Damselfish Species (Genus Stegastes)

Cited by 17 publications

References 15 publications

Habitat use, feeding and territorial behavior of a Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis (Actinopterygii: Pomacentridae)

Habitat use, feeding and territorial behavior of a Brazilian endemic damselfish Stegastes rocasensis (Actinopterygii: Pomacentridae)

Territorial defence by the Brazilian damselStegastes fuscus(Teleostei: Pomacentridae)

Habitat use and behavioural ecology of the juveniles of two sympatric damselfishes (Actinopterygii: Pomacentridae) in the south‐western Atlantic Ocean

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About