caa a22 4500 606227199 CHVBK 20210128101157.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10641-015-0424-2 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10641-015-0424-2 Colour change in a filefish ( Monacanthus chinensis ) faced with the challenge of changing backgrounds [Elektronische Daten] [B. Gilby, R. Mari, E. Bell, E. Crawford, D. Jun, B. Lederer, I. Tibbetts, D. Burfeind] The marine macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia is increasing its distribution worldwide, both within its natural range, where it can replace seagrass following a disturbance, and in areas where it is invasive. C. taxifolia presents a bright green background colouration for inhabitants, while seagrass habitats are typically much deeper green in coloration. The fan-bellied leatherjacket, Monacanthus chinensis inhabits both seagrass Zostera muelleri and C. taxifolia habitats in Moreton Bay, Australia and is camouflaged in these contrasting habitats by brown and bright green colour morphs, respectively. Aquarium experiments measuring colour change of brown and green morphs with respect to contrasting habitats (i.e., brown morphs in C. taxofolia and green morphs in seagrass) revealed that over 21days, brown morphs significantly altered their skin colouration towards the colouration of green morphs, but green morphs did not alter their colouration. In a habitat preference experiment, brown morphs, which match the colouration of the seagrass, significantly preferred seagrass to C. taxifolia, whilst green morphs showed no preference. We conclude that variations in C. taxifolia coverage present a substantial challenge to this species at short time scales (weeks). This challenge may be overcome by colouration changes at longer timescales assuming fish can survive predation during the adjustment period. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2015 Caulerpa taxifolia nationallicence Seagrass nationallicence Habitat change nationallicence Colouration nationallicence Habitat selection nationallicence Gilby B. Australian Rivers Institute - Coasts and Estuaries, Griffith University, 4222, Gold Coast Campus, QLD, Australia aut Mari R. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia aut Bell E. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut Crawford E. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut Jun D. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut Lederer B. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut Tibbetts I. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia aut Burfeind D. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia aut Environmental Biology of Fishes Springer Netherlands 98/9(2015-09-01), 2021-2029 0378-1909 98:9<2021 2015 98 10641 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0424-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0424-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gilby B. Australian Rivers Institute - Coasts and Estuaries, Griffith University, 4222, Gold Coast Campus, QLD, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Mari R. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Bell E. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Crawford E. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Jun D. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lederer B. University of California Education Abroad Program, 93106-3040, Santa Barbara, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Tibbetts I. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Burfeind D. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Environmental Biology of Fishes Springer Netherlands 98/9(2015-09-01), 2021-2029 0378-1909 98:9<2021 2015 98 10641