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The macroecology of marine cleaning mutualisms
SERGIO R. FLOETER*§, DIEGO P. VÁZQUEZ*† and ALEXANDRA S. GRUTTER‡
  *National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, 735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA;   †Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, CC 507, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina;   ‡School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
Correspondence: Diego P. Vázquez, Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, CC 507, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina. Tel.: +54 261 524 4050. Fax: +54 261 428 7370. E-mail: dvazquez@lab.cricyt.edu.ar
 

§Present address: Depto de Ecologia e Zoologia, CCB, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitario, Trindade, Florianópolis, SC 88010-970, Brazil. E-mail: floeter@ccb.ufsc.br

Copyright © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2006 British Ecological Society
KEYWORDS
abundance • body size • cleaning interactions • ectoparasites • reef fish • symbiosis

Journal of Animal Ecology (2007), 76, 105–111

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01178.x

ABSTRACT

  • 1. 

    Marine cleaning mutualisms generally involve small fish or shrimps removing ectoparasites and other material from cooperating 'client' fish. We evaluate the role of fish abundance, body size and behaviour as determinants of interactions with cleaning mutualists.

  • 2. 

    Data come from eight reef locations in Brazil, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Australia.

  • 3. 

    We conducted a meta-analysis of client–cleaner interactions involving 11 cleaner and 221 client species.

  • 4. 

    There was a strong, positive effect of client abundance on cleaning frequency, but only a weak, negative effect of client body size. These effects were modulated by client trophic group and social behaviour.

  • 5. 

    This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting a central role of species abundance in structuring species interactions.

Received 24 April 2006; accepted 12 September 2006

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)
10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01178.x About DOI

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