Evolutionary Ecology Group

Jennifer Oates

Tel: +44 (0)1223 767 129 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 336 676 Email: jo254@cam.ac.uk Position: PhD Student

Research

Previous studies of cleaning interactions have mainly focussed on the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus. This species creates fixed cleaning stations on coral reefs, which client reef fish visit frequently to have their parasites removed by the resident cleaner wrasse. Although both clients and cleaners have the potential to cheat (by predation and feeding on client tissue respectively), cooperation is maintained by control mechanisms which are based on a system of repeated interactions.

My research focuses on a closely related species of cleaner wrasse, Labroides bicolor. Preliminary observations have shown that adults of this species have very large home ranges rather than fixed cleaning stations, and thus it seems unlikely that repeated interactions occur between clients and cleaners. This raises an interesting question: in a system where repeated interactions do not occur, how might cooperation be maintained?

Using L. bicolor as a model system, I intend to test two mechanisms which may maintain interspecific mutualism in one-off interactions, namely indirect reciprocity based on image scoring and victim control over duration of interactions.

My study species also presents a unique opportunity to study different game structures in individuals of the same species, due to changes in home range size over the course of development.

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