Citizen Science: Monitoring "The Big 3" Parrotfish
Why are parrotfishes important to coral reefs?
In recent decades, the amount of macroalgae on Caribbean coral reefs has increased dramatically. Some reefs have transitioned from coral to algae dominated ecosystems, which impacts not only corals but also all the other reef species that rely on them for food and shelter. Parrotfish play a critically important role on coral reefs by grazing algae, preventing it from overgrowing and outcompeting corals. Yet, in some parts of the Caribbean parrotfishes are have also become an emerging fishery species as traditional fisheries species like snapper and grouper are becoming less abundant. Islands like Bonaire and Bermuda have banned the harvest of parrotfishes altogether, yet parrotfish fishing pressure is high on islands such as Jamaica and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
How can we better understand the role of parrotfishes on Caribbean coral reefs? Our lab is studying the positive impacts of parrotfish algae grazing to the negative impacts of parrotfish coral predation on Caribbean coral communities to estimate their net impacts. As part of this research, we are comparing reefs where parrotfishes are heavily fished and to those with little to no parrotfish fishing pressure in order to better understand how managers can help promote high coral cover on reefs. Read more about 'Understanding the Net Impacts of Caribbean Parrotfishes' here.
How can we better understand the role of parrotfishes on Caribbean coral reefs? Our lab is studying the positive impacts of parrotfish algae grazing to the negative impacts of parrotfish coral predation on Caribbean coral communities to estimate their net impacts. As part of this research, we are comparing reefs where parrotfishes are heavily fished and to those with little to no parrotfish fishing pressure in order to better understand how managers can help promote high coral cover on reefs. Read more about 'Understanding the Net Impacts of Caribbean Parrotfishes' here.
Citizen Science- getting the community involved in research:
As part of our parrotfish research project, we are working with volunteers from Dive Friends Bonaire, we are monitoring population trends of three largest parrotfishes (Rainbow, Midnight, and Blues- aka "The Big 3") on Bonaire. Populations of the Big 3 parrotfish are declining in certain regions of the Caribbean, such as the US Virgin Islands, likely due to fishing pressure. However, on Bonaire parrotfish were not historically heavily fished and their harvest was banned all-together in 2010. Working with citizen scientists, we are monitoring population trends of these iconic parrotfishes on Bonaire using presence/absence data. Thank you to our volunteer community for helping us with this research!