Symbiotic relationship between the carapid fish <em>Onuxodon fowleri</em> (Ophidiiformes: Carapidae) and the pearl oyster <em>Pinctada margaritifera</em> (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Pteriidae)

Orphal Colleye; Loïc Kéver; Gilles Lepoint; David Lecchini; Eric Parmentier

doi:10.3989/scimar.04627.04A

Authors

Orphal Colleye Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Université de Liège, Institut de chimie (B6C) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7190-2541
Loïc Kéver Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Université de Liège, Institut de chimie (B6C) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3672-5348
Gilles Lepoint MARE, Laboratoire d’Océanologie, Université de Liège, Institut de Chimie (B6C) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4375-0357
David Lecchini EPHE, PSL Research University, UPVD-CNRS - Laboratoire d’Excellence “CORAIL” https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6347-1112
Eric Parmentier Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Université de Liège, Institut de chimie (B6C) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0391-7530

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04627.04A

Keywords:

symbiosis, stable isotopes, diet, pearl oyster, Carapidae

Abstract

At Makemo Atoll (French Polynesia), the carapid fish Onuxodon fowleri lives in symbiosis with the black-lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera. Although the symbiont seems to live inside its host bivalve by using it as a shelter, additional data are still needed to better understand the exact nature of this association. For this purpose, we implemented an approach using stable isotope ratios of carbon (¹³C/¹²C) and nitrogen (¹⁵N/¹⁴N). The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values were measured in tissues of the pearl oyster (gonads, gills, mantle and muscles), white muscle tissue from the fish and other food sources. This stable isotope approach was also complemented by the analysis of stomach contents in the carapid fish. Overall, the isotopic compositions measured in the present study support a commensal relationship between O. fowleri and P. margaritifera. In addition, our isotopic data bring new information about another guest living inside P. margaritifera, namely the palaemonid shrimp Conchodytes meleagrinae. Based on the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values, it appears that the shrimp might feed on the bivalve gonads.

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