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Editorial
. 2010 Jun 18:8:81.
doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-8-81.

As you weed, so shall you reap: on the origin of algaculture in damselfish

Duur K Aanen  1
Affiliations
Editorial

As you weed, so shall you reap: on the origin of algaculture in damselfish

Duur K Aanen. BMC Biol. .

Abstract

Within their territories, damselfish cultivate particular algae for consumption. A recent study in BMC Evolutionary Biology shows extensive variation among and within fish species in the composition of these algal 'gardens', varying from monocultures to cultures of mixed species, and in the mode of cultivation. This fish-algal agriculture may provide insight into the early stages of domestication. See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/10/185.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The researcher and the fish. Stegastes nigricans chasing Hiroki Hata off its territory in Okinawa, Japan. Photograph kindly provided by Hiroki Hata.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Variations in algaculture by damselfish. (a) A near monoculture of Polysiphonia sp. 1 from a territory of S. nigricans in Okinawa. (b) S. nigricans and its more diverse garden off the coast of Kenya. Photographs kindly provided by Hiroki Hata.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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