Species-specific behaviors drive the initiation and maintenance of snapping shrimp-goby mutualisms

Clicks: 17
ID: 329229
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #47 of 71 articles by views in behavioral ecology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract Animals in obligate mutualisms perform behaviors to indicate their willingness to form partnerships and to communicate their quality to potential partners. Obligate mutualisms are difficult to study since they are formed quickly and remain in place until one partner is lost or dies. A remarkable system to ask how obligate mutualisms are initiated and maintained are those between snapping shrimp and gobies. In these mutualisms, snapping shrimp dig a burrow that provides both partners with shelter, while gobies warn the shrimp of nearby predators using tactile warning signals. To address how these mutualisms are initiated and maintained, we recorded unpartnered tiger snapping shrimp, Alpheus bellulus, and yellow watchman gobies, Cryptocentrus cinctus, interacting prior to, during, and after partnership initiation. From these recordings, we investigated the fine behavioral dynamics of initiation and the subsequent maintenance of these partnerships. While gobies lead the initiation of these partnerships by persistently contacting and following snapping shrimp, both species have an active role in initiation. To motivate gobies to initiate partnerships with them and to communicate their ability to provide shelter, snapping shrimp dig. To maintain these partnerships, we show that snapping shrimp recognize and spend significantly more time contacting their partner goby compared to a stranger goby. Altogether, our work shows that snapping shrimp-goby mutualisms require active participation by both species to be successfully initiated and maintained. Ultimately, snapping shrimp-goby mutualisms rely on species-specific roles, where the goby primarily initiates the partnership and the snapping shrimp maintains the mutualism through partner recognition behaviors.
Reference Key
openalex_W7151732306 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Tanner T. Mierow, Myrosya Zelenchuk, Alexandra C N Kingston
Are you one of these authors? Claim your profile
Journal behavioral ecology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/beheco/arag117
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arag117
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.