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Updated: Oct 23, 2026

A Fish-feeding Laboratory Bioassay to Assess the Antipredatory Activity of Secondary Metabolites from the Tissues of Marine Organisms
Published on: January 11, 2015
Chemical protection of a fish (Abudefduf leucogaster bleeker) by a soft coral (Litophyton viridis May)
1Collectif de Bio-Ecologie, Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract:
Around Laing Island (Bismarck Sea), juveniles of the fishAbudefduf leucogaster are associated with the alcyonarianLitophyton viridis which, on mechanical stimulation, can release a potent ichthyotoxin and appears to be accordingly disliked by large predators. The fish has no special immunity to high levels of toxin but is affected more slowly than others. This has been interpreted in terms of an original strategy wherebyA. leucogaster plays its long reaction time against the diffusion of the toxin, allowing the fish to remain around the soft coral and benefit from indirect chemical protection. Possible biological implications of the toxin release are discussed.
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