Clownfish chemically recognized their sea-anemone host at settlement
Résumé
One of the greatest challenges facing marine reef organisms with a pelagic larval stage that develops in offshore waters is how they relocate to patchily distributed reef environments in a vast oceanic matrix. In the present study, a series of aquarium experiments using a choice flume were conducted to test the abilities of Amphiprion ocellaris larvae (clownfish) to chemically recognize their host sea-anemone Heteractis magnifica. Moreover, to know if chemical abilities of fish change after settlement, the study was also conducted on juvenile stage. The results showed that both larvae and juveniles had a significant preference toward their host. Thus, our study showed that olfactory cues could play an important role in directing pelagic larval stage fishes to a suitable reef in which they can settle on.