Corals can be seen like rocks, but they are live. They look like plants, but they do not photosynthesis. Corals are colonial animals and can have a single polyp or a colony of thousands of polyps. Each polyp is a tubular sac-like body with a ring of tentacles surrounding their mouth. Polyps range in size from 1-3 mm in diameter for colonial corals. Multiple polyps are linked from the common gastrovascular system. It is helpful for them to share food, water, wastes with surrounding polyps.
When considering about coral reef associators first we need to consider about the symbiotic relationship of corals and other flora and fauna. These relationships are very common near reefs as are so many species associated with coral reefs. As we all know algae and corals are in a symbiotic relationship. Symbioses are perhaps best recognized as a broad category of heterospecific associations embracing various degrees of adaptive interaction. There are 3 types of symbiotic relationships. They are,
(1) Mutualism
(2) Parasitism
(3) Commensalism
Now let’s consider each step by step
Relationship between the sea anemones and clown fish is also an obligate mutualistic relationship. Sea anemones are predators and they are attached themselves to a rock or the ocean floor. They capture prey and it is paralyzed by using their poisonous tentacles. But clown fish is used to live among anemone’s tentacles as it has a mucus layer all over the body which is immune to the deadly sting of the anemone. Therefore, clownfish get protection from predators. Not only that, clown fish helps to feed the anemone by letting them eat their left over and by luring fish over to the anemone.
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Source: journals.plos.org |
When consider about facultative mutualistic relationship it is known as species benefit from one
another, but do not fully depend on one another.Relationship between shrimp or smaller fish and larger
marine organisms can be taken as an example. Shrimps remove materials like parasites from larger organisms in which they get meal from. Removal of harmful parasites is the benefit that get for larger animals.Examples for those smaller fish are bluehead wrasse, Spanish hogfish. Often time larger fish wait in cleaning stations for the cleaner fish to come and get these things off of them. Sometimes these smaller fish become the meal of the larger fish.
Isopods involve in a parasitic symbiotic relationship. Some isopods eat the tongue of the fish and live in the fish mouth and act as the tongue of the fish and get all the food the fish takes inside. Then it eats anything that fish eats.
Relationship between the fish lice and small fish is an ectoparasitic relationship. Fish may die if there are too many fish lice attached. Fish lice eat fish body fluid.
Phylum Platyhelminthes parasitic on coral reefs in many different ways. Mainly cause to the heavy loss of the coral cover. Acropora eating flat worm has only been found in the Great Barrier Reef.
Here one species benefits from another species. The other species is neither harmed nor helped in the relationship.
Relationship between shrimp and feather star is also a commensalism. Shrimp blend with the feather star and use it for protection. When shrimp is hiding it is very difficult to find it.
Mimicry
Mimicry is a form of symbiosis where a species may mimic the colors, patterns, behaviors of another species.This may happen for a reason. The organisms who do mimic can get closer to the prey without any suspect, can get protection by imitating a predator or a poisonous species.Mimicry can be two types. They are aggressive mimicry and batesian mimicry. When an animal imitates as a predator it is known as aggressive mimicry and when an animal imitates as a poisonous species it is known and batesian mimicry.
Frog fish, species of angler fish engages in aggressive mimicry. They have a fleshy filament just above its lip with which it mimics the movements of a small organism in order to attract the prey.
Mimic octopus is a remarkable cephalopod which takes on the form of a variety of different animals by bunching up or elongating its arms to mimic anything from a stingray to a lion fish or a sea snake. It uses mimicry for defense and as a predator, which both aggressive and batesian mimic.
Another example of mimicry is between the sabre-tooth blenny and cleaner wrasses. The cleaner wrasse has a mutualistic relationship with larger fish so they don’t get eaten and the sabre-tooth blenny takes advantage of this relationship by evolving to look very similar to cleaner wrasse. Instead of cleaning the larger fish, the sabre-tooth blenny will take a bite out the large fish’s flesh and swim away. This is an example for aggressive mimicry.
Four eye butterfly fish uses a large eye spot in order toappear larger to predators.
https://necsi.edu
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https://sciencedirect.co.
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