Big fish—and their pee—are key parts of coral reef ecosystems
Coral reefs wouldn't be the same without their beautiful fish.
Coral reefs wouldn't be the same without their beautiful fish.
Environment
Aug 16, 2016
1
655
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that up to 90 percent of predatory fish are gone from Caribbean coral reefs, straining the ocean ecosystem and coastal economy. The good news? They ...
Environment
Mar 1, 2017
3
894
Their numbers continue to expand. They are spreading throughout the Caribbean Sea. Eradication appears almost impossible. Even limited amounts of control will be extremely difficult, and right now the best available plan ...
Ecology
Apr 19, 2010
8
0
Mats of algae and seaweed have shrouded the once thick coral in shallow reefs off Jamaica's north coast. Warm ocean waters have bleached out the coral, and in a cascade of ecological decline, the sea urchins and plant-eating ...
Environment
Feb 26, 2013
4
0
Scientists had already demonstrated that overfishing removes angelfish and parrotfish that feed on sponges growing on coral reefs—sponges that sometimes smother the reefs. That research was conducted off Key Largo, Fla.
Environment
Feb 25, 2014
0
0
The showy lionfish, a predator with venomous spines that has invaded Caribbean coral reefs, has found a new market to exploit: the "twilight zone," an area of ocean that lies below traditional SCUBA diving depths, where little ...
Environment
Jun 1, 2017
0
102
As Earth's temperature climbs, the stony corals that form the backbone of ocean reefs are in decline.
Environment
Sep 10, 2013
7
0
Selective fishing can disrupt the delicate balance maintained between corals and algae in embattled Caribbean coral reefs. Removing large parrotfish, which graze on algae like large land mammals graze on grasses, can allow ...
Ecology
Jan 9, 2020
0
1254
Groupers may be able to limit the invasion of lionfish on Caribbean coral reefs, according to new research conducted by The University of Queensland (UQ).
Ecology
Jul 6, 2011
0
0
The health of coral reefs can be impacted as much by the diversity of fish that graze on them as by the amount of fish that do so, according to a new study by scientists at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. In the Science ...
Environment
Mar 6, 2019
0
115