Meeting Abstract

74.8  Sunday, Jan. 6  Color stripes provide visual contrast in habitat-linked cleaner gobies LETTIERI, L.*; BOOTHE, D.; CHENEY, K.L.; MAZEL, C.H.; MARSHALL, N.J.; STREELMAN, J.T.; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA; University of Queensland, Australia; NightSea, Andover, MA; University of Queensland, Australia; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA liliana@gatech.edu

Evolution of coloration patterns in one of the most species-rich genera of Caribbean fishes, Elacatinus, has been shown to be linked to changes in habitat and behavior. The striking color stripes and specialized cleaning behaviors characterizing some of these species are shared with distantly related species found throughout the tropical marine environment. Using spectral reflectances measured from three commonly represented phenotypes, we ask whether stripe colors in species exhibiting specialized cleaning behavior are more conspicuous to potential �clients� compared to ancestral sponge-dwellers. Both models and experiments suggest that more derived color stripes provide more effective contrast to the ambient water and the coral cleaning station background against which potential clients will observe cleaners, while basal colors are more similar to frequently occupied coral and sponge habitats. Against the black stripes common to both species, blue stripes are likely the most visible of the stripes across variable microhabitats, while the white hybrid stripe (which shares its color phenotype with several Elacatinus species) and yellow stripes may provide less contrast.