Symbiotic Relationships Between Animals in the Marine Biome
A biome is a large community of distinctive species of plants and animals adapted to a particular environment. Marine biomes are areas of the Earth where approximately 60 percent of all species of plants and animals reside. They are vast areas of water that encompass more than 75 percent of the world.
Symbiotic relationships involve more than one species that live together and mutually benefit from or are dependent upon each other. Symbiotic relationships in marine biomes are numerous. Symbiosis between different species of marine animals mostly takes the form of commensalism or mutualism. Some noteworthy examples are relationships between certain species of fish and turtles, clownfish and anemones, shark and remoras and shrimp and sea cucumbers.
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Imperial Shrimp and Sea Cucumbers
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Commensalism is a type of symbiotic relationship where one species gains some benefit and the other is unaffected. The relationship between imperial shrimp and sea cucumbers exemplifies this. The shrimp receives transportation by riding on large sea cucumbers. It gets off the sea cucumber at a food source then gets back on it to go to another area. The sea cucumber simply acts as a transporter from one feeding area to another. The shrimp is exposed to more and potentially better food locations while exerting less energy.
Clownfish and Anemones
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Symbiotic mutualism occurs when members of two species living together help one another. The anemone is beautiful but deadly. If fish swim into an anemone, most are stung and devoured. The clownfish establishes a relationship with the anemone by repeatedly going gently in and out of the anemone and accustoming it to the chemicals in its skin. Having gotten used to the clownfish, the anemone does not harm it. The clownfish is safe from its enemies and gains some leftovers of the anemone's prey. The anemone is cleaned by the clownfish and additional prey is lured in by the clownfish's presence. The clownfish also chases after fish that could harm the anemone. Some scientists feel there is no real benefit for the anemone and see this relationship as commensalism.
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Sharks and Remoras
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Remoras are sucking fish that have no swim bladder. They attach the sucking disks on their heads to other animals such as sharks. The sucking disks create a partial vacuum that allows the remoras to attach to and ride along with their larger host animal. Remoras cannot survive in still water because they need quick flowing water to pass over their gills. The relationship between the sharks and the remoras was previously thought to be commensalism because the remoras just ride on the sharks and do not harm or benefit them. As of 2011, scientists now say that the relationship is mutualism because the remoras act as cleaner fish to obtain food and thus benefit the sharks by removing parasites. Remoras are believed to dart around and eat scraps from their host, as well.
Green Turtles and Cleaning Fish
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Cleansing mutualistic symbiosis between fish and turtles has been noted in several regions of the world. In the waters off the west coast of Hawaii there are several turtle "cleaning stations" where herbivorous cleaner fish remove parasites and debris from green turtles. Turtles will leisurely swim down and "stand" on the tips of their flippers and extend their necks to facilitate the cleaning. Green turtles travel a distance of up to a kilometer to the "cleaning stations." They are cleaned mostly by golden eye surgeonfish and yellow tang fish. The surgeonfish clean the turtle's carapace and flat areas of the pectoral and hind flippers, while the yellow tang fish service mostly the rougher skin of the turtle's shoulders and neck. The two species of fish probably clean different areas according to their individual mouth structures. The turtles benefit from being cleaned and the herbivorous cleaning fish receive food.
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References
- University of California Museum of Paleontology: Symbiosis: The marine biome
- Miami University of Ohio; Symbiosis on the Coral Reefs; Nicole Lewis; June 2006
- Marietta College: Symbiosis
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Remora remora
- Hawaii Preparatory Academy; Cleaning Symbiosis and Diel Behavior of Green Turtles (Chelonia Mydas) at Puako, Hawaii; Catellaci, et al
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