'Fishy Lawnmowers' Help Save Pacific Corals
Researchers have discovered that some coral reefs may be recovering faster than others due to the fact of how many parrotfish and surgeonfish that live in the area. These fish eat the algae which makes it stay at a constant length and a nice shelter for juvenile fish. The coral reefs act as a nursery for baby fish, mostly herbivore fishes. With all the fool available from the algae, the baby parrotfish and surgeonfish survive more often and provide more individuals to control the algae growth on the reefs. In fact, 'the large numbers of parrotfishes and surgeonfishes are acting like thousands of fishy lawnmowers, keeping the algae cropped down to the levels low enough that there is still space for new baby corals to settle ontothe reef and begin to grow.' .
Researchers have discovered that some coral reefs may be recovering faster than others due to the fact of how many parrotfish and surgeonfish that live in the area. These fish eat the algae which makes it stay at a constant length and a nice shelter for juvenile fish. The coral reefs act as a nursery for baby fish, mostly herbivore fishes. With all the fool available from the algae, the baby parrotfish and surgeonfish survive more often and provide more individuals to control the algae growth on the reefs. In fact, 'the large numbers of parrotfishes and surgeonfishes are acting like thousands of fishy lawnmowers, keeping the algae cropped down to the levels low enough that there is still space for new baby corals to settle ontothe reef and begin to grow.' .
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