Nemo, the adorable clownfish in the movie Finding Nemo, rubs himself all over the anemone he lives in to keep it from stinging and eating him like it does most fish. That rubbing leads the makeup of microbes covering the clownfish to change, according to a new study.
"It's the iconic mutualism between a host and a partner, and we knew that microbes are on every surface of each animal," said Frank Stewart, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences. "In this particular mutualism, these surfaces are covered with stuff that microbes love to eat: mucus."
Clownfish and anemones swap lots of mucus when they rub. So, the researchers brought clownfish and anemones together and analyzed the microbes in the mucus covering the fish when they were hosted by anemones and when they weren't.
"Their microbiome changed," said Zoe Pratte, a postdoctoral researcher in Stewart's lab and first author of the new study. "Two bacteria that we tracked in particular multiplied with contact with anemones."
"On top of that, there were sweeping changes," said Stewart, the study's principal investigator. "If you looked at the total assemblages of microbes, they looked quite different on a clownfish that was hosted by an anemone and on one that was not."
The researchers chased 12 clownfish in six fish tanks for eight weeks to swab their mucus and identify microbes through gene sequencing. They published their results in the journal Coral Reefs. The research was funded by the Simons Foundation.
Here are some questions and answers about the experiment, which produced some amusing anecdotes, along with fascinating facts about anemones and clownfish. For example: Fish peeing on anemones makes the latter stronger. Clownfish change genders. And it was especially hard to catch one fish the researchers named "Houdini."
An earlier hypothesis on the conundrum held that clownfish mucus was too thick to sting through. Current ideas consider that mucus swapping also covers the clownfish with anemone antigens, i.e. its own immune proteins, or that fish and fish killer may be exchanging chemical messages.
Going forward, the researchers want to analyze mucus chemistry. They also don't yet know to what extent the microbes on the fish change because of bacteria the fish gleans from the anemone. It's possible the fish mucus microbiome just develops differently on the fish due to the contact.
"When they start being hosted, the fish make a big developmental switch," Stewart said. "The first fish in a group that establishes itself in an anemone in the wild transitions from male to female, grows much bigger and becomes the dominant member of the group."
"When the fish pee, algae in the anemone take up the nitrogen then secrete sugars that feed the anemone and make it grow," Pratte said. "Sometimes the fish drop their food, and it falls into the anemone which eats it."
"Clownfish are smarter than other fish, so they're harder to catch, especially when we want to minimize stress on the animals," said Alicia Caughman, an undergraduate research assistant in the School of Biological Science's Fast Track to Research program. "We named one fish 'Houdini.' He could wiggle between nets and tight spaces and usually outsmart whoever was trying to catch him."
"We also had 'Bubbles,' who blew a lot of bubbles, 'Biggie' and 'Smalls,' 'Broad,' 'Sheila,' 'Earl,' and 'Flounder,' who liked to flounder (flop around)," Pratte said. Clownfish have differing sizes and details in their stripes, which allow people to tell them apart.
The anemone side of the microbial question may prove harder to answer because for all Houdini's wiles, anemones, which are squishy non-vertebrates, are even more trying. They can squeeze into uncomfortable niches or plug up the aquarium drainage, and they also have temperamental microbiomes.
Great white sharks are known for being fearsome predators. They are not the mindless killing machines that all people believe them to be. For more information about the fascinating world of the great white shark, check out Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.
Moorish Idols are believed to have gotten their name from the Moors of Africa. They thought that the fish was a bringer of happiness. They are very tricky to keep as aquarium fish. They are very sensitive to stress and have a relatively short lifespan.
Like we mentioned in our previous post, a yellow tang can make a great addition to a home saltwater aquarium. Remember to only get one for your tank! They can become aggressive if there is more than one of them per tank. They love munching veggies too!
Some species of puffer fish are considered one of the most poisonous vertebrates in the world. Their liver, skin and some other organs, are highly toxic to anything that tries to eat them. They can also fill their highly elastic stomach with water and turn into a big pointy basketball. This is another defense mechanism that turns them from tasty fish into pointy sphere (not too tasty).
Nemo is a very energetic young clownfish. He is very eager to go to school at the beginning of the film, but lazy at the end. He is also quite friendly towards anyone he meets. His father, Marlin, being overprotective, makes Nemo frustrated most of the time and eventually results in him being captured by scuba divers. Adventuring and exploring are some of his likes.
Nemo can also be very brave, as shown when he is willing to risk his life to jam the filter after hearing about all his father had done to come and save him and when he willingly entered a net that captured Dory and a school of fish to lead them to freedom.
Nemo's relationship with his father, Marlin is what defines the film. Although Nemo loves his father, initially, he feels suffocated and confined by his father's overprotectiveness, which leads him to tell Marlin "I hate you". However, after being captured by scuba divers and placed in a fish tank, he felt sorry for what he did but did not believe his father would come to get him due to his paranoia and fear of danger. However, after learning of his father's bravery, he became braver and hopeful, wanting to quickly meet up with and reunite with his father, which he managed to do at the end of the film.
In the sequel, Nemo has a more mature and loyal personality. He handles the mission to find Dory's parents better than his father, as he is willing to help Dory find her family. He is also very defensive and forgiving of Dory's short-term memory loss as he is unhappy with his father condemning Dory over it.
Nemo is a young clownfish who lives with his father, Marlin, in a sea anemone. Before he hatched from his egg, his mother, Coral, and the other eggs containing his brothers and sisters were eaten by a barracuda. Only Nemo's egg survived, albeit slightly cracked. As a result of the egg damage, Nemo's right fin (nicknamed his "lucky fin") is smaller than normal, thus Marlin worries about him and becomes overprotective of his only son. He was given his name because Coral mentioned she liked "Nemo" as a name while they were looking at their eggs.
Years later, Nemo heads off to his first day of school. At one point, he joins his friends in sneaking away from the rest of the class and discovers the drop-off, seeing a boat on the open ocean. They each dare each other to see how far out they can go from the reef, but as Nemo is telling them that his father says it's not safe, a frantic Marlin (who was chasing after them upon hearing they were heading to the drop-off) rushes in, attempting to stop Nemo from swimming off. The two get into a heated argument, with Marlin believing Nemo's disability is too much of a hazard to his safety. He then decides that Nemo isn't ready for school after all and tries to take Nemo home but Nemo insists he is fine and can take care of himself but also unlike Marlin, Nemo isn't scared of the ocean like his dad. The argument reaches its peak when Marlin tells Nemo he isn't ready and can't do things he thinks he can, causing Nemo to go as far as to tell his father that he hates him, much to Marlin's shock. As Marlin tries to explain the situation to Mr. Ray, Nemo decides to prove he can survive dangers by touching the boat. Marlin, who is watching (and also alerted by the student Kathy), orders Nemo to come back but he ignores Marlin and disobeys his father and touches the boat anyway, much to Marlin fury and his friends amazement. When Nemo swims back he is suddenly taken by a diver, who puts him on a boat and heads off to a dentist's office in Sydney, Australia.
In the dentist's office, Nemo is placed inside a fish tank. Though initially scared by his sudden change of surroundings, as well as being separated from his father, Nemo soon meets the friendly Tank Gang, who live peacefully watching the dentist and his patients. The fish are shocked when they suddenly learn that Nemo is to be a gift for the dentist's niece, Darla. Upon learning that Darla has a history as a "fish killer," Nemo becomes horrified and tries to swim away, but is sucked into the filter's tube. Nemo then encounters the Tank Gang's leader, Gill, who shows him how to escape the tube on his own with encouragement. Nemo escapes successfully, impressing Gill. That night, the Tank Gang accepts Nemo into their group, dubs him "Sharkbait" and decides to help him avoid being taken away by Darla by escaping the tank, however, the first step in the plan involves Nemo using a pebble to jam the filter's fan, since he is the only one small enough to fit inside the filter. The first attempt at their plan falls apart when the pebble is not strong enough and Nemo is almost sucked into and killed by the fan. Distraught, Nemo spends some time in sadness thinking his fate will be to become Darla's pet. After some time he goes to see Gill and apologizes for failing the plan, but Gill says that he should be apologizing for selfishly disregarding Nemo's safety by putting him into harm's way to get what he wanted. However, Nemo soon learns from Nigel the pelican that Marlin is on his way to rescue him, lifting his spirits as he hears of Marlin taking on sharks and jellyfish. Nemo realizes he also needs to be brave, and inspired by his father's exploits, makes a second attempt to jam the filter. This time, the plan works, causing the tank to become covered in scum and algae.
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