Meeting Abstract
47.6 Tuesday, Jan. 5 Ecological correlates of intraspecific behavioral variation in the bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus): Interacting influences of physical and social conditions SCHRANDT, M.N.*; HARDY, K.M.; JOHNSON, K.M.; LEMA, S.C.; Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington; Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington; Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington; Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington mns6093@uncw.edu
Environmental conditions are known to affect animal behavior, yet few studies have explored how physical and social conditions interact to shape intraspecific behavioral variation in the wild, especially for marine taxa. We used the bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus) as a model to examine the relationship between spatial variation in coral reef habitat and fish behavior. Bicolor damselfish are a coral reef fish exhibiting high site fidelity, but are found in a wide range of reef microhabitats. Habitat assessments and behavioral observations were conducted across habitats ranging from dead coral rubble to live reef structure at three coral reefs in Curaçao with the goal of identifying environmental correlates to damselfish behavior. The density of bicolor damselfish increased in accordance with more shelter holes in the benthos, declining rugosity, and reduced substrate coral cover. In all microhabitats, large (>40 mm SL) and small (<40 mm SL) bicolor damselfish differed in behavior with large fish showing elevated aggression and courtship, and more frequent use of substrate shelters. Large damselfish also became more aggressive across the transition from reef to rubble habitats, corresponding to an increase in the number of small damselfish. Given this behavioral variation, we are now exploring whether habitat-associated intraspecific behavioral variation in this species relates to reactivity of the HPA axis to stress. Understanding how local habitat variation shapes the behavior and stress physiology of bicolor damselfish will provide a better understanding of how reef fish are affected by, and may respond to, perturbations to reef structure and its associated community.
