Female cleaner fish can judge when to cheat without getting caught

Female cleaner fish can judge when to cheat without getting caught

Source: newscientist

9/30/2021

Credit: Hans Gert Broeder/Alamy

Female cleaner fish are sensitive to what their partners can and cannot see while working on client fish. This means they may have theory of mind, a concept built on awareness of other’s perspectives, often associated with humans and other primates.

Cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) typically work in male-female pairs to “clean” client fish by eating their dead skin cells and skin parasites. The wrasse actually prefer to eat the mucus produced by these client fish, but the clients can react to this by terminating the relationship – leaving the cleaners without food.

This means a lot is at stake when a male-female cleaner wrasse pair work as a team. If one fish cheats by attempting to eat mucus while their partner is cooperating with the client, this may leave both fish without food. If a male cleaner fish knows his female partner has cheated, he will sometimes punish her by chasing and even attempting to bite her, says Katherine McAuliffe at Boston College in Massachusetts.

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
1401	Man catches nearly 80-pound fish at Percy Priest Lake	wsmv	2023-08-11	US
1402	Fishermen reel in monster catch off Port Lincoln coast	9news	2023-08-28	AU
1403	Walleye are hungry as Labor Day weekend approaches	Buffalo News	2023-08-30	CA
1404	'Rare' fish endangered in two US states has researchers working to save species from extinction	Fox News	2023-08-21	US
1405	India’s thriving trout farming scene	thefishsite	2023-08-18	IN
1406	Insights from the founder of Osky Catfish	thefishsite	2023-08-25	NG
1407	Recreational Fishing for Greater Amberjack Closes in Gulf	Associated Press	2023-08-24	US
1408	Chemical Treatment to Be Deployed Against Invasive Fish in Colorado River	Associated Press	2023-08-18	US
1409	Засланный окунек	ohotniki	2023-08-20	RU
1410	MrBeast attempts to consume world's most poisonous fish in high-risk challenge	meaww	2023-08-10	US
1411	Mullet fishers keep proud tradition alive for next generation along south-east Queensland beaches	ABC Sunshine Coast	2023-08-12	AU
1412	These trout evolved rapidly to find food in lakes	washingtonpost	2023-08-12	US
1413	Japan to check tritium in fish daily after Fukushima water release	nikkei	2023-08-07	JP
1414	Cleanup of creeks after industrial Toronto fire	winnipegfreepress	2023-08-25	CA
1415	Investigation into water near 3M plant led to discovery of old and new chemicals in fish	minnesotareformer	2023-08-11	US
1416	Redfish to be stocked in Louisiana waters in first-of-its-kind program	nola	2023-07-30	US
1417	Disturbing 'zombie salmon' seen at UK fish farm as welfare probe launched	mirror	2023-07-30	UK
1418	Redneck Fishing Tournament returns to Central Illinois Friday	25newsnow	2023-07-31	US
1419	In bluefin tuna, fisheries science is never neat	salon	2023-08-02	US
1420	Color-changing hogfish use their skin to 'see' themselves — even after they're dead	livescience	2023-08-24	US
1421	Fishy mystery: Utah family discovers 16 dead fish in their backyard	ksltv	2023-08-04	US
1422	Invasive snakehead fish reported in Lower Susquehanna River	fox43	2023-08-02	US
1423	Using Glowing Fish to Detect Harmful Pesticides	ucdavis	2023-08-15	US
1424	Arctic char cuts greenhouse gases and waste	winnipegfreepress	2023-08-13	CA
1425	California aims to introduce more anglers to native warm-water tolerant sunfish	The Associated Press	2023-08-14	US