Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA.
J Fish Biol. 2023 Dec;103(6):1556-1559. doi: 10.1111/jfb.15541. Epub 2023 Sep 13.
During an escape from predators, many animals need to evaluate and choose a refuge within seconds. We investigated refuge choice in the amphibious blackspotted rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus, in Moorea, French Polynesia. Rockskippers are small combtooth blennies that inhabit rocky beaches and jetties at the aquatic/terrestrial interface. They are conspicuous for their eponymous jumping to/from refugia among rocks when threatened. We have observed refugia with both multiple conspecifics and solitary fish in the field, and here tested whether fish choose refugia that are occupied by conspecifics in the laboratory. E. striatus chose unoccupied refugia on the opposite side of the experimental tank in 11/14 trials, a significantly greater number of times than they chose occupied refugia. In 3/14 trials, fish chose occupied refugia, indicating that refuge occupation does not prohibit their use by conspecifics. We hypothesize that chemical stress signals from the occupying fish deter most fish from choosing the same refuge.
在逃避捕食者的过程中，许多动物需要在几秒钟内评估并选择一个避难所。我们在法属波利尼西亚的莫雷阿岛研究了两栖黑斑点岩鱼（Entomacrodus striatus）的避难所选择。岩鱼是小型栉齿鳚鱼，栖息在水/陆交界处的岩石海滩和突堤上。当受到威胁时，它们会从岩石之间的避难所跳跃，这是它们的同名特征。我们在野外观察到有多个同种鱼和单独的鱼在避难所，在这里我们在实验室中测试了鱼是否会选择同种鱼居住的避难所。在 14 次试验中的 11 次中，E. striatus 选择了实验水箱另一侧未被占用的避难所，这比它们选择被占用的避难所的次数多得多。在 14 次试验中的 3 次中，鱼选择了被占用的避难所，这表明避难所的占用并没有阻止它们被同种鱼使用。我们假设来自占领鱼的化学应激信号会阻止大多数鱼选择相同的避难所。
