original scientific paper/izvorni znanstveni rad FIELD EXPERIMENTS ON THE ASSOCIATION OF DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS WITH SEA

We have undertaken for the first time removal and introduction field experiments with both symbiotic (taken from anemones) and anemone-naïve decapods (taken from somewhere else) and tested defence reactions of putative host anemones. Our findings indicate that decapods go through an individual habituation phase before they become symbionts. Once habituated, they are pro-tected from neighbouring anemones as well. Key words: symbiosis, field experiments, sea anemones, decapod