Counts of gnathiid consumption
Fish functional group was a significant predictor of gnathiid counts
(Z=10.83, p<.005). Gnathiid counts were statistically similar
for dedicated and facultative cleaners, and both of those groups had
significantly higher gnathiid counts than all other functional groups
(Table 2, Fig. 2A). Dedicated cleaners had the highest average gnathiids
per gut with 11.3 while facultative cleaners had 10.7 per gut (Table 1).
Facultative cleaners were also found to consume gnathiids across all
life history stages. The next highest gnathiid counts per gut were the
planktivores with an average 0.6 (Table 1, Fig. 2A). Furthermore, when
considering only those individuals that consumed at least one gnathiid,
facultative cleaners consumed more gnathiids on average compared to
dedicated cleaners. However, the magnitude of difference with respect to
the other groups was largely unchanged (Fig. 2B). Based on our results,
we determined the quantity of individuals from a given functional group
that would be required to replace a single dedicated cleaner (Fig. 3).
Facultative cleaners are a nearly one to one replacement, while
planktivores would require 18 individuals, scrapers 44 individuals, and
all other groups would need between 97 and 162 individuals to replace
one dedicated cleaner (Fig. 3).