Coral Reef Fish Smell Leaves To Find Island Homes

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 27 Aug 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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This study demonstrates a previously unrecognized link between coral reefs and tropical rainforests. In the coral triangle, the orange clownfish (aka Nemo) is most abundant on coral reefs surrounding islands.

Young clownfish hatch is tiny larvae that spend 10-12 days out to sea. How they find their way back to reefs has been a mystery.

Here experiments show that clownfish juveniles exhibit a strong olfactory preference for sea water from near islands.

Further, the experiments show that larvae exhibit an innate preference for water exposed to tropical vegetation, which provides a strong cue indicating the presence of an island.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences