Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Larvae can feed on Organic Matter Released from Corals Ryota Nakajima, Nobuyuki Nakatomi, Haruko Kurihara, Michael D. Fox, Jennifer E. Smith, and Ken Okaji Abstract: Previous studies have suggested that Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COTS) larvae may be able to survive in the absence of abundant phytoplankton resources suggesting that they may be able to utilize alternative food sources. Here, … Read More
Do different species of herbivorous fish have unique grazing roles on coral reefs, or are they all grazing alike?
Coral reefs are home to a large diversity of organisms. The herbivorous fishes, those fish that eat algae in competition with corals, are no exception to such diversity. But do the many species of herbivores have unique grazing roles on reefs or are all herbivorous fishes grazing alike? This was the focus of a study recently published in Oecologia … Read More