2023 Academia Sinica Open House

Our lab will exhibit clownfish species (Amphiprion spp.) with different skin pigmentation patterns, different colors, and different number of bands (3 bands, 2 bands, 1 band, no bands). The exhibition will showcase the extreme variety of phenotypes that exists in natural and mutant populations of this fish family. Clownfish species all look different from one another, and work in our lab suggests that clownfish can "count" the number of bands of other fish to recognise one another, with an effect on their aggressive behaviour and territoriality. If available at the time of the exhibit, we will also have a display of live clownfish eggs/embryos developing in real time. Finally, visitors will also have access to bibliographic and photographic material on clownfish to spark more general discussions.