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Take a Cue from the Clownfish and Make a Difference

Intensely orange and aggressive to intruders, the clownfish lives upon the sea anemone, whose otherwise deadly sting has no effect on the clownfish thanks to a slimy mucus on its body. In a clever symbiotic ruse, the clownfish swims away from the anemone, attracts a hungry predator, lures it back to the anemone, who stuns and kills it. The anemone and the clownfish then feast on this predator-turned-prey. High fives all around. Clownfish are peculiar in that they adhere to a strict hierarchy of dominance. The largest and most aggressive female is found at the top. As many other fish, the female lays eggs — usually on flat surfaces close to their host anemone — and males fertilize them. Gender, however, is a slippery subject with clownfish, since they are what’s known as sequential hermaphrodites, meaning they first develop into males and then mature into females.…

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