Ecology · Natural history
Partnerships, cheating and parasites: the strange relationships that connect marine animals.
A grouper pauses beside a cleaner wrasse. From that encounter alone, it can be hard to tell which fish benefits and how much. The same question applies to a goby sharing a burrow, a remora on a moving host and an isopod attached to a bogue.
At a cleaning station, a grouper tolerates the approach of a cleaner wrasse. Its pose alone does not reveal whether the wrasse takes a parasite or mucus. © dive.explo360.fr — All rights reserved. Reproduction requires permission.
Steinitz’s shrimp goby keeps watch while the shrimp maintains the shelter. An antenna in contact with the goby lets the shrimp detect its movements. Without the shrimp, the goby would lose access to a burrow. Without the goby, the shrimp would face more risk when it ventured outside.
