What is the relationship between corals and fishes?

What is the relationship between corals and fishes?

Another important mutualistic relationship is the one between coral and herbivorous fish. Coral provides shelter and food to herbivorous fish in return for protection from natural enemies, such as seaweeds.

How do fish affect coral reefs?

55% of the world’s coral reefs are affected by overfishing. When fish populations decline, particularly those that feed on algae, algae can grow unchecked, eventually smothering corals.

What is the relationship that supports coral reef?

Shallow water, reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae, which live in their tissues. The coral provides a protected environment and the compounds zooxanthellae need for photosynthesis.

Why do fishes like coral reefs?

Sustainable Fisheries Many commercially important fish species, like grouper, snapper, and lobster, depend on coral reefs for food and shelter. The fish that grow and live on coral reefs are a significant food source for billions of people worldwide.

What is the difference between a reef and a coral reef?

What is the difference between Coral and Reef? Coral is a live animal while reef is a physical structure. Reef is the habitat of the corals, which has been created through the secretions of coral polyps over many generations.

Do fish eat coral reef?

Butterfly fish, the most commonly seen fish on reefs through out the world, can exhibit colors such as blue, red, orange or yellow. They eat coral which contains food sources they like such as polyps, worms and other small invertebrates.

How do fish help the ocean?

Fish play a far more important role as contributors of nutrients to marine ecosystems than previously thought. Through excretion, they recycle the nutrients they take in, providing the fertilizer sea grass and algae need to grow.

Is coral reef a fish?

Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Coral reefs occupy less than one percent of the surface area of the world oceans, but still they provide a home for 25 percent of all marine fish species.

Do fish live in coral reefs?

Millions of species live in and around coral reefs Hidden beneath the ocean waters, coral reefs teem with life. Fish, corals, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges, and sea turtles are only a few of the thousands of creatures that rely on reefs for their survival.

What makes a reef a reef?

A reef is a ridge of material at or near the surface of the ocean. Reefs can occur naturally. Natural reefs are made of rocks or the skeletons of small animals called corals. Reefs can also be artificial—created by human beings.

What is the symbiotic relationship between coral reefs and fish?

What is the symbiotic relationship between coral reefs and fish? There are strong mutual dependencies between the reef-building corals and reef-inhabiting fishes, with many fish species depending on corals for food and habitat, while corals depend on the grazing by certain fishes for reproductive success.

How many species of fish live in coral reefs?

Corals provide essential habitat structure and energy in coral reef systems, facilitating the existence of numerous reef associated species. Indo-Pacific coral reefs are home to over 600 species of hard corals (also called stony corals or scleractinian corals), and 4000-5000 species of reef fishes (Veron 2000, Lieske and Myers 2001).

Why are coral reefs important to fish communities?

Given the exacerbating effect of structural reef loss on fish communities it can be assumed that the role of coral reefs in providing refuge is a key process in regulating diversity and abundance of reef fishes ( Garpe et al. 2006 ).

How are skeletal feeding species affect coral reefs?

Skeletal-feeding species have a greater potential to impact the physical structure of coral reefs, especially the larger species whose deep bites effectively excavate the coral skeleton causing substantial damage to the coral species which they selectively target.