Clownfish
Adaptive Function of Clownfish Colour Patterns
Dr Benjamin Titus, Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Alabama, has 15 years of experience leading and participating in tropical field research expeditions studying mutualisms on coral reefs. However, key mysteries remain to be unravelled. Most surprisingly, the evolution and function of clownfish colour patterns themselves are unknown.
Dr Titus research has generated recent discoveries that directly link clownfish colour patterns to the host sea anemone they reside in. We hypothesise that colour has a protective function and is related to how they interact with their host.
Project Activities include SCUBA from a tender, sample collection and processing.
TYPES OF RESEARCH/ TESTING CARRIED OUT
1. Underwater videography to study clownfish behaviour in their primaryhost anemones
2. Colour-calibrated underwater photography to test whether specialist clownfish species have evolved colours and patterns that allow them to blend into their anemone hosts
3. Detailed genomic analysis of the host anemone to identify previously undescribed species of anemones and test whether the relationships between clownfish and anemone hosts are more co-evolved than previously thought
LOCATIONS
Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Philippines, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Maldives
BERTHS
4-6 berths
DATES
May 2025
July - January 2026
DURATION
2 -3 weeks
July - January
EQUIPMENT
SCUBA tanks and weights
Table to process samples
Tender