Hawksbill turtles visit moustached barbers: cleaning symbiosis between eretmochelys imbricata and the shrimp stenopus hispidus

Ivan Sazima,Cristina Sazima,Alice Grossman

doi:10.1590/s1676-06032004000100011

Abstract

This seems to be the first record of cleaning symbiosis between marine turtles and shrimps. During their foraging on the reef flat, the turtles regularly visited and posed at the stations. The same stations were visited by a few species of reef fishes, which posed and were cleaned by the shrimps. We suggest that cleaning symbiosis between turtles and shrimps is widespread and went unrecognised due to the superficial resemblance between a resting turtle and a posing and cleaned one. Additionally, we submit a putative origin for the cleaning symbiosis between marine turtles and cleaner shrimps following a few simple behavioural steps.

Highlights

Cleaning symbiosis between two species of marine turtles and several species of reef fishes has been recorded both from the Pacific and the Atlantic (Booth & Peters, 1972; Smith, 1988; Losey et al, 1994)
We found two barber pole shrimp cleaning stations being visited by hawksbill turtles on the reef flat
All hawksbill individuals recorded foraging on the reef flat and posing at the barber pole shrimp cleaning station were juveniles, adult males were recorded at the reef flat occasionally (AG, pers. obs.)

Summary

Introduction

Cleaning symbiosis between two species of marine turtles and several species of reef fishes has been recorded both from the Pacific and the Atlantic (Booth & Peters, 1972; Smith, 1988; Losey et al, 1994). To the best of our knowledge, no records of this type of interaction have been recorded between sea turtles and cleaner shrimps This invertebrate cleaner type is known to interact with several reef fish species in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Pacific (reviews in Limbaugh et al, 1961; Criales & Corredor, 1977; Van Tassel et al, 1994; Côté, 2000). We report here on cleaning symbiosis between the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the barber pole shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) at the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off North-eastern Brazil

Methods

Results

Conclusion