A friend sent me a link to this story about how Damselfish may be destroying Caribbean reefs. In a nutshell, Damselfish farm algae, but their algae gardens kill the coral. Normally this is fine in moderation, but due to overfishing there aren’t enough big fish like groupers to eat the Damselfish. So, the Damselfish and their gardens spread, threatening already-fragile reefs.

Parrotfish and other creatures eat algae, allowing corals to grow back. Reduced numbers of these algae feeders may also contribute to the spread of algae. And do not underestimate the tiny Damselfish when it is defending its farm! Madam J saw a Damselfish repeatedly dive-bombing the head of a sea turtle who was trying to chow down on the farm. Eventually, I believe it succeeded in pestering the turtle into leaving!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Marine Ecology, Things from the Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.