Complex Behaviour of Marine Animals

The purpose of this open-access book is to assemble comprehensive examples of marine animal behavior that might be unknown to many readers having an interest in the ocean and its marine communities. The examples come from an array of disciplines, with the chapters in this volume written by leading scientific experts. For example, abalone, an incredibly slow-moving invertebrate, exhibits a homing behavior in its grazing, centered around a home location, much the same as better-known vertebrates, such as elephant seals, sharks, and sea turtles. The latter use magnetic cues to guide their navigation throughout the apparently featureless ocean. Similarly, aggressive behavior is displayed even by invertebrates such as the owl limpet, just as do vertebrates from tiny tube blennies to massive white sharks. Other examples come from feeding tactics, again very diverse, ranging from reef mantas swimming in a stacked formation filter feeding upon plankton to bottlenose dolphins dislodging prey from the seafloor with a sponge on their snout. The marine environment is rich in the diversity of behaviors among its inhabitants, and this volume intends to share little-known aspects with you, the readers.