Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Kleptoparasitism in Sharks - Paper!

Click for detail!

Very nice!

Read this.
Following their epic dives in Tetamanu and the many experiments they have made, the team around Laurent Ballesta have published their observations about the interactions between the Grey and Whitetip Reefies when nailing that Grouper spawning aggregation.
Here's what Johann has posted.

Not surprised about the kleptoparasitism by the Grey Reefies
They are just that bit bigger and bolder than the other reefies, and will thus tend to dominate any competitive exchange, much like described in this paper from Osprey Reef.
And here in the Reserve, they will equally try to dominate the other reefies during the shallow feeds, something we try and counteract by hand feeding selectively so that the Blacktip and Whitetip Reefies always get their fair share.

Anyway, all really very interesting.
Enjoy!

No comments: