Science Friday Kids' Connection^tm -- in association with Kidsnet
Clownfish Cliques (July 11, 2003, One)

Program Summary | Guests | Related Links and Resources | For Discussion | Activities | Hear the program | About Kids Connection | SFKC Home

Program Summary

Remember those high school cliques? The jocks, the rich kids, the grunge group, the chess club? It’s human nature to band together; there’s safety in numbers, and the sense of belonging makes us feel “normal.” The need to belong is not just a human characteristic, however. Many species of mammals, birds, fish, and insects live in groups that provide the protection and social order that ensure the species’ survival. Without the group, the individual doesn’t last long.

The colorful clownfish, a small coral reef dweller, is well-known for its odd habitat. It lives among the poison tentacles of the sea anemone in a symbiotic relationship (each party contributes something that benefits the other). Covered with a mucous layer that makes it immune to the poison, the fish finds shelter and food in the anemone’s tentacles, and, in turn, it drives away the creature’s predators.

One researcher reported at the International Society for Behavioural Ecology meeting this summer that clownfish seem to live in very rigid cliques that never leave their respective anemones and rarely allow new fish in. One researcher has observed that the groups, which average four to six members, also have a very strict pecking order, with the largest female being top fish, followed by a slightly smaller male. They are the only breeding pair. The fish below them don’t reproduce, and each one is about 20 percent smaller than the fish above it. What happens if one of them dies? All the fish beneath that one will change sex and size to fill the empty slots above them. Believe it or not, it's not unusual for some species to change sex in response to habitat changes.

And what happens to the hundreds of baby clownfish that hatch every year? They’re not permitted to move in to an occupied anemone, and finding a vacant one is nearly impossible. Almost all of them end up as fish food, unless there happens to be a clique with an opening at the bottom; in that case, one baby will be accepted as a junior member. Boy, we thought high school was tough!

Guests

Peter Buston, postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara

Related Links and Resources

Nature.com, July 10, 2002: “Clownfish Know Their Place”
NewScientist.com, July 10, 2003: “Clownfish Turn Transsexual to Get In on Life”
The Clownfish Underwater Picture Gallery
The Coral Reef Alliance: Professor Polyp’s Classroom: Clownfish

For Discussion:

• What is a symbiotic relationship? What are the three types of symbiosis? Give an example of each one.
• Do humans have symbiotic relationships?
• What is a clique? Why do clownfish live in cliques?
• How do clownfish reflect rank in their cliques? Why do you think animals have ranks?
• How is a human clique different from an animal clique? How is it the same?
• What kinds of cliques exist in your school or neighborhood? Do you think they are helpful or harmful?

Activities

The birds and the bees. Partners in Pollination, from the Smithsonian Institution, explores symbiotic relationships between plants and their pollinators. One activity demonstrates the pollination process, another asks students to remove one important pollinator (the bee) from the world and imagine the results. A third activity has students design their own flower and pollinator.

That’s life! Students can design a board game modeled after the game of “Life.” Players will be larval clownfish that must be accepted into an open clique and work their way up the social ladder (past numerous obstacles and setbacks) to become top fish.

Mass appeal. Students get a closer look at cliques at Welcome to Cliques Online, an excellent site from the PBS broadcast “In the Mix.” Students watch video clips from the “Cliques: Behind the Labels” episode to learn about group dynamics, peer pressure, gender, and much more. Thoughtful discussion questions are included, and the program provides plenty of material for in-class and at-home projects. As the segments are self-contained, they do not have to be viewed in any particular order. "Cliques, Friendship Groups, Or Boxes?", a lesson plan for another “In the Mix” episode, focuses on cliques and school violence. Though designed for grades 9–12, middle schoolers can relate to the themes of acceptance and isolation.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

RealAudio archive courtesy of NPR Online. If nothing happens when you click the link, you may need to download a free player.