research has found fish have developed their own mosquito nets in order to get a good night鈥檚 sleep.
Dr Alexandra (Lexa) Grutter, from 宅男导航鈥檚 Centre for Marine Studies, said while most fish guide books and biology textbooks presumed mucous cocoons protected fish from nocturnal predators such as moray eels, no experimental studies had examined their function.
鈥淚n our study, we exposed coral reef parrotfish with and without cocoons to ectoparasitic gnathiids overnight,鈥� Dr Grutter said.
鈥淔ish without mucous cocoons were attacked more by gnathiids, than the fish with cocoons.
鈥淔ish that spent their time building the cocoons before tucking in to bed at night were protected, much like humans putting on a mosquito net.鈥�
Fish sleeping soundly in mucous cocoons is a sight that has long-fascinated recreational scuba divers and is often a main attraction on night dives.
Dr Grutter and her team are believed to be the first to investigate this remarkable occurrence.
鈥淔ish seek cleaner fish to remove these 鈥榤arine mosquitoes鈥� during the day,鈥� Dr Grutter said.
鈥淎t night, when cleaner fish sleep, mucous cocoons act like 鈥榤osquito nets鈥�, allowing fish to sleep safely without being constantly bitten, a phenomenon new to science.鈥�
This study showed that cocoons protect fish from the parasites that bite like mosquitoes.
The research will be published on November 17 in Biology Letters.
Media: Dr Grutter (07 3365 7386, a.grutter@uq.edu.au) or Tracey Franchi (07 3365 4831, t.franchi@uq.edu.au)
Images of Dr Grutter can be viewed .
For high-resolution versions, please contact Matthew Taylor (07 3365 2753, uqimages@uq.edu.au)
