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Cleaner shrimp do clean

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Abstract

Apart from cleaner fish, there are many reports on cleaning by shrimps, yet whether shrimps actually ‘clean’, i.e. eat parasites in the wild, has not been demonstrated. For the first time, we show that, conclusively, cleaner shrimp in the wild do clean. We found crustacean ectoparasites from the Family Gnathiidae and the Class Copepoda in the gut contents of wild cleaner shrimp, Urocaridella sp. and Periclimenes holthuisi. In addition, they ate parasitic monogenean flatworms, Benedenia sp., offered to them in the laboratory. Finally, P. holthuisi, significantly reduced monogenean, Benedenia sp., loads by 74.5% on captive surgeonfish Ctenochaetus striatus within 48 h. Such large reductions in parasite loads are likely to benefit individual fish. These results emphasise the need for more information on the ecological role of cleaner shrimp on coral reefs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Jacob, K. Schleit, M. Gauthier, R. Garcia Novoa, C. Jones and H. Parks, for assistance in the field; M. Deveney for comments on monogenean identification, J. Nicholls, A. Rutstein, S. Hazlitt for commenting on the manuscript; P. Sale and two anonymous referees for discussion and comments; the Lizard Island Research Station staff for their help; and Anne Goldizen for discussions on cleaning behaviour. Funding was provided by the University of Queensland, the Australian Museum in the form of a 2002–2004 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship (J.H.A.B.), by the Australian Government in the form of an Australian Postgraduate Award (to J.H.A.B.), and by the Australian Research Council (A.S.G.). This is a contribution from the Lizard Island Research Station, a facility of the Australian Museum.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4074, Australia

    J. H. Becker & A. S. Grutter

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  1. J. H. Becker
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  2. A. S. Grutter
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Correspondence to J. H. Becker.

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Communicated by Ecological Editor P.F. Sale

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Becker, J.H., Grutter, A.S. Cleaner shrimp do clean. Coral Reefs 23, 515–520 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-004-0429-3

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