Some Clownfish Species Are Boring, Despite Their Name, Lack Personality: Study

Ever since clownfish entered our world as the cute animated Nemo, our fascination with the animal grew manifold. These cute orange and white fish were found to have very individualistic personalities and show "charm."

A study published three years ago observed schools of clownfish in captivity to study various personality traits they display, which have enamoured us to these cute fish increasing their popularity in home aquariums. But now, further research has shown that not all clownfish show distinct personality traits.

Australian researchers from the University of Wollongong and Southern Cross University analyzed the behavioural patterns of two species of subtropical clownfish, or anemone fish Amphiprion mccullochi and Amphiprion latezonatus.

Amphiprion mccullochi primarily live in shallow waters around Lord Howe Island in Australia. The Amphiprion latezonatus have a much wider distribution along Australia’s east coast .

The study, published in the December issue of Coral Reefs journal found that the species called A.mccullochi displayed distinct, individual personalities. When this was compared to the A.latezonatus, there were no individual qualities the team could notice. Every member of A.mccullochi showed different levels of aggressive behavior and bravery while the other species seemed to show very comparable levels of the same qualities, making them more predictable and dull.

"Despite living in the much more sedate setting, the lagoon dwellers were braver and more aggressive toward other fish, whereas the reef fish didn’t seem to have any obvious personality traits," said a Dec. 14 release in the journal Science.

Even other species of clownfish were also found to have vibrant personalities but the A.latezonatus, showed none making it the boring one of this underwater coral party.

"Relatively little is known about why animal personalities vary so considerably and what consequences individual personalities have on important life-history traits, like reproductive success," said Marian Wong, of the University of Wollongong in a Australian Geographic release.

The species that showed individual, discernible characteristics were studied back in 2013. "There will be some very aggressive individuals," said Peter Buston, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor and author of the study conducted by Boston University.

Buston and his students also observed adventuresome fish, which will swim further from their sea anemones in which these fish live, for an extended period of time.

"The individuals who didn’t travel very far on one day were the ones who also didn’t travel very far the next day," Buston says. "Individuals that are really active are consistently very active," he added.

The researchers studied over 60 fish at the same time every day to evaluate their boldness, aggression, and sociability.

The research showed that the A.latezonatus have personalities but each individual had no interesting behavioural traits, because all specimens observed during the study period displayed identical behaviours.

On scoring each characteristic out of 10, the team found the A.latezonatus do not display individual personalities because they live in a more dangerous, turbulent environment than the sheltered lagoon of A.mccullochi.

The study helps us understand how environment impacts behaviour between different species of the same fish. The ability to roam around freely, living in shallow waters, the A.mccullochi has a much higher chance of being bold and displaying higher traits than a species that is constantly on the lookout for potential danger.