commensalism

Black Rayed Shrimpgoby feeds partner shrimp some poop!

Have you ever wondered how the partner shrimp in the Lembeh Strait get their food? I always assumed that 100% of it came from digging through the sand and finding morcels of food between the rocks and grains of sand.  Today changed my opinion – the shrimp goby clearly plucks a piece of poop from the water column and passes it down into the burrow for the partner shrimp – I peered over the top of the camera and the partner shrimp did pick it up and withdraw into the burrow with it.

By Simon, ago

Creature Feature: Coleman Shrimp

In the creepy and ugly world of much diving and critters Coleman Shrimps (Periclimenes colemani) make a big exception. They are very attractive with nice colours, a beautiful pattern and a host that couldn’t be more colourful: The Coleman Shrimp is a commensal shrimp and lives on the Variable Fire Read more

By Serge, ago

Commensal Bryaninops gobies

For some reason certain animals are on the “cool” list that everyone wants to see and photograph and others are placed on the “not so cool” list and get ignored by most divers and photographers. Scarcity and cuteness seems to be two important factors determining the popularity of an animal. Read more

By NAD Lembeh, ago

Symbiosis and commensalism

On my day job part of my time is used to teach ecology for undergraduates in biology. Maybe not such a surprise, many of the best examples of interactions between species that I use in my teaching come from marine ecosystems. This is especially true when dealing with symbiosis theory. Read more

By NAD Lembeh, ago

Fire urchins and their inhabitants

Being an animal is being filled with protein and fat! That is probably the scariest fact small animals have to face. Protein and fat is on the whole extremely uncommon in nature. Compared to the ubiquitous carbohydrates, which plants just require some sun and some fancy chemistry to create, protein Read more

By NAD Lembeh, ago

Creature Feature: Emperor Shrimp

The Emperor Shrimp (Periclimenes imperator) is a commensal shrimp and a member of the Palaemonidae. Sounds strange, but looks really beautiful: Characteristic is its attractive red, white and purple colouration and its commensalism. The Emperor Shrimp can be found on several species of Sea Cucumbers and Nudibranchs (for example Risbecia Read more

By NAD Lembeh, ago