Data and code from: Competitive cleaning: Behavioural variation supports coexistence of two juvenile sympatric cleanerfishes

Cleanerfish support coral reef ecosystems by providing important services
to client fishes. Cleanerfish species often coexist, but how interspecies
dynamics influence cleaning networks across life-history stages remains
largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of interspecific
competition on the behaviour of two juvenile cleaner wrasses, Labroides
dimidiatus and Labroides bicolor. Under competitive scenarios, L.
dimidiatus exhibited higher levels of client association compared to L.
bicolor, while no differences were observed under non-competitive
conditions. These behavioural differences likely facilitate resource
partitioning and coexistence, supporting the stability of coexisting
mutualistic networks in coral reef ecosystems.