Off the coast of Tahiti, small fish have developed great adaptations to avoid becoming prey. Divers photographed a small silver half-dollar fish known as Myers' Pomfret, its scientific name. Brama Myers“riding” on an Anhozoan larva, or sea anemone.
Because the invertebrate is tucked neatly between the fish's pelvic fins, scuba divers speculate that the small fish used the sea anemone as a weapon of sorts, perhaps using its stinging cells as defense against potential predators.
Read more: Friends and anemones: how clownfish strengthen symbiotic bonds with their owners
Fish and anemone: a symbiotic relationship
The juvenile filiosa fish carries a palyphoa larva in its mouth.
(Image credit: Rich Collins)
This is not the only case where this kind of symbiotic relationship between juvenile fish and anemone larvae has been observed. Newly hatched in West Palm Beach, Florida. fish Species have been observed carrying anemone larvae in their mouths, capturing invertebrates into a cage with their sharp teeth.
One fish, carrying an anemone larva in its mouth, swam actively, displaying what the researchers called “a defensive posture, moving short distances without attempting to escape.” The fish eventually released the anemone, which remained unharmed, and swam away, suggesting that the fish was not trying to eat the anemone.
The symbiotic relationship between anemones and fish is well documented—just ask any fish enthusiast. Finding Nemo. The poisonous sea anemone protects the fish, and its fish inhabitant, in turn, supplies the host with nutrients.
But photographs recently published in Journal of Fish Biology suggest that this anemone-fish relationship is much deeper and more varied than previously thought.
Sting Shield
Young bamids hold an anemone in their mouth.
(Image credit: Linda Ianniello)
“Some species of vulnerable larval or juvenile fish use invertebrates, apparently for defensive purposes,” said Rich Collins, a diver and consultant at the Florida Museum of Natural History. statement. “They find something harmful or stingy and just carry it with them.”
A variety of photographs taken during black water drift dives, where scuba divers drift into deep open water at night to photograph sea lifefrom 19:30 to 22:00. The dive team captured several images at depths of up to 60 feet, all in the epipelagic zone where daylight still reaches the depths.
The team noted a variety of fish species associated with the anemones: Nafil fish, driftfish, pomfret and young jack were all seen with tube anemone larvae or button polyps in their mouths.
Anthozoans are marine organisms that lack bones, including coralssea fans and anemones. These invertebrates also have polyps and stinging nematocysts, microscopic harpoon-like cells that release a poisonous thread upon contact. The anemone larva's sting will not kill a potential predator, but Gabriel Alfonso, the study's lead author, said it would be “unpleasant.”
New mutual benefits
The images may also indicate an entirely new form of mutualism between the two species – with the fish receiving protection. In turn, the anemone may benefit from being transported to new locations.
“Early life-stage fish have distinct survival strategies when interacting with pelagic invertebrates, such as hiding within them, imitating patterns of potentially harmful, poisonous, unpalatable, and/or unnutritive invertebrates, or swimming alongside and maintaining connections between fish and native animals in epipelagic waters,” the study authors wrote.
These images, collected by citizen scientists, highlight the importance of the growing field of black water photography and how citizen science can improve our understanding of the world's oceans.
“This new data source offers numerous insights that were previously unavailable from fixed scientific samples, including color in life, behavior, and relationships with other planktonic organisms,” the authors concluded. “We therefore emphasize the importance of the social sciences for the development of ichthyology, emphasizing its connection with the diving community.”
Read more: 7 Amazing Symbiotic Relationships and How Species Help Each Other Survive
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