Protect Our Reefs!
Parrotfish & Corals Project
What is that bright, colorful fish on coral reefs making a "crunch, crunch, crunch" noise? That's a parrotfish doing what it does best: eating algae that can otherwise overgrow or outcompete corals on the reef. Because traditional fisheries species like snapper and grouper are becoming less abundant, many Caribbean fisherman have turned to harvesting parrotfishes. A primary management goal on many islands is to promote reefs that are resilient to disturbances (like hurricanes and bleaching) by maintaining abundant herbivores (particularly parrotfishes) to keep algae at bay. Islands like Bonaire and Bermuda have banned the harvest of parrotfishes altogether, while St. Croix, US Virgin Islands has a marine reserve where fishing is prohibited.
A few Caribbean parrotfish species occasionally eat live coral – which can cause local mortality to parts of coral colonies, reduce their reproductive output, and potentially make them more prone to disease. So what is the net impact of parrotfishes on reefs? In order to answer this question, the Ruttenberg Lab has been studying the positive impacts of parrotfish herbivory and the negative impacts of parrotfish corallivory in the Florida Keys, St. Croix and Bonaire. Here are a few of the questions we are addressing: How much species to species variation is there is parrotfish feeding? What feeding preferences do parrotfish have for both algae and corals? What are the recovery rates of corals from parrotfish predation?
Want to learn more? See this paper by Madelyn Roycroft, Ben Ruttenberg and our collaborators at UCSB (Adam et al. 2018) on the diversity of foraging behavior among Caribbean parrotfishes. See this poster presentation by Hannah Rempel on the patterns of coral healing from parrotfishes bite scars.
What can you do to promote resilient reefs? Pass on eating parrotfish. Lower your carbon footprint. Reduce your use of plastics and other debris that can end up in the ocean. Put pressure on law makers to support marine reserves. Support science!
A few Caribbean parrotfish species occasionally eat live coral – which can cause local mortality to parts of coral colonies, reduce their reproductive output, and potentially make them more prone to disease. So what is the net impact of parrotfishes on reefs? In order to answer this question, the Ruttenberg Lab has been studying the positive impacts of parrotfish herbivory and the negative impacts of parrotfish corallivory in the Florida Keys, St. Croix and Bonaire. Here are a few of the questions we are addressing: How much species to species variation is there is parrotfish feeding? What feeding preferences do parrotfish have for both algae and corals? What are the recovery rates of corals from parrotfish predation?
Want to learn more? See this paper by Madelyn Roycroft, Ben Ruttenberg and our collaborators at UCSB (Adam et al. 2018) on the diversity of foraging behavior among Caribbean parrotfishes. See this poster presentation by Hannah Rempel on the patterns of coral healing from parrotfishes bite scars.
What can you do to promote resilient reefs? Pass on eating parrotfish. Lower your carbon footprint. Reduce your use of plastics and other debris that can end up in the ocean. Put pressure on law makers to support marine reserves. Support science!
