Is Nemo A Meanie? Clownfish Stripes Predict Aggressiveness
Most anemonefishes are striped and the direction of their stripes — vertical or horizontal — correlate with their levels of territorial aggression
A new study reveals that anemonefishes display aggressive behavior against other fish with vertical white bar patterns to avoid them from inhabiting their territory—the sea anemone. This is a pair of ocellaris clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris, also known as the false percula clownfish or common clownfish. (Credit: Kina Hayashi / Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology)
Dazzling colors and color patterns evolved as visual signals that operate over short distances. The most diverse pigment cell types of any vertebrate group are found in tropical fishes, and they create an exhilarating variety of color patterns such as bars, stripes and spots (ref). This riotous visual variety is particularly effective in the excellent lighting and crystal-clear waters found in coral reefs, where the fishes living there rely on these colors and markings for camouflage, mimicry, individual and species identification, courtship and other social interactions. And yet, even though competition and cooperation within the coral reef community are established using visual signals, we still don’t know how particular colors and color patterns affect these interactions between coral reef species.
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