Cleaner fish – client interactions are good examples of mutualistic interactions between members of different species in which different commodities are traded: the cleaner removes ecto-parasites and the client transports food to the cleaner's territory. The supply and demand of both commodities varies over time.
Redouan Bshary concentrated on partner choice as the crucial factor driving markets. He compared interactions of cleaners with 'residents', i.e. clients that had access to only a single cleaning station and 'floaters', i.e. clients that could choose between multiple cleaning stations.
As predicted the floaters were serviced faster and better than the residents.
Key references:
Bshary R (2001) The cleaner fish market. In In: Noë, R.; van Hooff, J.A.R.A.M. & Hammerstein, P. (eds.) Economics in Nature. Social Dilemmas, Mate Choice and Biological Markets. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 146-172
Bshary R, Grutter AS (2002) Experimental evidence that partner choice is a driving force in the payoff distribution among cooperators or mutualists: the cleaner fish case. Ecology Letters 51: 130-136
Bshary R, Schäffer D (2002) Choosy reef fish select cleaner fish that provide high-quality service. Animal Behaviour 63: 557-564
Bshary R, Noë R (2003) Biological Markets: the ubiquitous influence of partner choice on the dynamics of cleaner fish-client reef fish interactions. In Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation., Hammerstein P (ed), pp 167-184.: MIT Press. Cambridge, Mass.
