It is clear that without domestication, human civilization would be unrecognizable and there would be no cities or pets around us. Now, new research by Australian scientists reveals that a fish has successfully tamed shrimp to care for its algae farm. It is the first record of an animal domesticating another animal. Although insects are known to domesticate fungi, it is rare to see domestication occur among other groups of animals.
On an expedition to coral reefs in Belize, researchers discovered that the damselfish of the species Stegastes diencaeus appeared to have learned the practice of domestication using mysid shrimp to help manage their kelp farms.
How is this possible?
Apparently, shrimp are attracted to the smell of the fish, and as they try in every way to avoid the smell of their predators they approach this species. The researchers also observed that there are more mysid shrimp found camping near the damsel than other species.
According to experts, who publish their study in the journal Nature , the mutualistic relationship between long-finned damselfish and mysid shrimp has all the hallmarks of domestication, such as the way humans raise their farm animals.
Referencia: Brooker, R.M., Casey, J.M., Cowan, ZL. et al. Domestication via the commensal pathway in a fish-invertebrate mutualism. Nat Commun 11, 6253 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19958-5
