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Cleaning behaviour in Diplodus spp.: chance or choice? A hint for future investigations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2001

Stefano Mariani
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Department of Animal and Human Biology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Viale dell'Università 32, 00185, Rome, Italy, E-mail: Stefano.Mariani@uniroma1.it

Abstract

Ectoparasitic crustaceans (Copepoda: Caligidae) occurred at considerable frequency in stomach contents of young specimens of Diplodus sargus and Diplodus puntazzo (Pisces: Sparidae) from two central Mediterranean coastal lagoons. This finding suggests that the ectoparasites might give a non-negligible contribution to the diet of the studied fish species and reveal a certain adaptive advantage of cleaning behaviour in coastal environments.

Type
Short Communication
Copyright
2001 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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