Conclusions
While it has been well documented that only select species engage in
cleaning behaviors, any additional functional redundancy of gnathiid
consumption provided by the many fish species that consume invertebrates
either primarily or nominally was unknown. Here we show that although
many species consume gnathiids, the totality of their consumption is
insignificant compared to both dedicated and facultative cleaners.
Additionally, while dedicated and facultative cleaners consumed similar
amounts of gnathiids, the differences in client diversity suggests that
facultative cleaners occupy a complementary cleaner role to that of
dedicated cleaners. Thus, we feel that both cleaner functional groups
are high priority for conservation and that, in fact, they cannot be
replaced. However, the preservation of complete cleaning services for
all species requiring it will be dependent on the conservation of
reef-building Scleractinian corals that serve as the base for goby
cleaning stations. The results presented here show that cleaning may be
a more significant component of the ecology of T. bifasciatumthan previously thought. Indeed, they may have the capability to
suppress gnathiid populations on the Caribbean coral reefs. However, the
factors determining how often T. bifasciatum engages in cleaning,
as well as the degree to which intraspecific differences in cleaning
behavior exist, will be important to determine going forward. Cleaning
services are unique and critical for the maintenance of coral reef
health. Although we find both facultative and dedicated cleaners to be
important, dedicated cleaners occupy a niche that is in jeopardy and
seems to be irreplaceable by any other fish functional group.