Unravelling the macro-evolutionary ecology of fish-jellyfish associations: life in the ‘gingerbread house’

Fish-jellyfish interactions are important factors contributing to fish stock success. Jellyfish can compete with fish for food resources, or feed on fish eggs and larvae, which works to reduce survivorship and recruitment of fish species. However, jellyfish also provide habitat and space for developing larval and juvenile fish which use their hosts as means of protection from predators and feeding opportunities, helping to reduce fish mortality and increase recruitment. Yet, relatively little is known about the evolutionary dynamics and drivers of such associations which would allow for their more effective incorporation into ecosystem models. Here, we found that jellyfish association is a probable adaptive anti-predator strategy for juvenile fish, more likely to evolve in benthic (fish living on the sea floor), benthopelagic (fish living just above the bottom of the seafloor) and reef-associating species than those adapted to other marine habitats. We also found that jellyfish associat...鱼类与水母的相互作用是影响鱼类种群存续成效的关键因素。水母既可与鱼类争夺食物资源，亦会捕食鱼卵与幼鱼，进而降低鱼类的存活率与种群补充量。但与此同时，水母也为处于发育阶段的仔鱼与稚鱼提供栖息场所与活动空间；这些幼鱼可依托水母躲避捕食者、获取摄食机会，借此降低自身死亡率并提升种群补充量。然而，目前学界对这类共生关联的演化动态与驱动机制仍所知有限，而厘清此类机制将有助于更高效地将其纳入生态系统模型。本研究发现，与水母共生对于稚鱼而言是一种潜在的适应性反捕食策略；相较于适应其他海洋生境的鱼类，底栖鱼类（benthic，即栖息于海床的鱼类）、底中水层鱼类（benthopelagic，即栖息于海床上方水域的鱼类）以及礁栖鱼类更易演化出此类共生行为。本研究还发现，水母共生……