BIO

My name is Lena and I am currently a junior in the Biology department. I am from Gainesville, FL. I am interested in research involving fish behavior and coral reef ecology. My career goals include going to graduate school and earning my Ph.D. I would like to be able to teach and help students while participating in research.

Corallivorous butterflyfish grazing on parrotfish grazing scars

Abstract

Corallivory, the act of an animal grazing on coral substrate, has an impact on the health of coral reefs. This grazing can provide food for other fish but can harm the corals. If fish are grazing on the scars, then it will be more difficult for corals to heal those wounds. Foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) are known to graze on gorgonians and hard coral, but the relation to other animals has not been identified. We decided to focus on Orbicella spp. because they are the most common targets of parrotfish and are frequently scarred. We utilize a unique data set of 20 videos gathered at two different sites in Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. Our study sites have high coral cover, including hard and soft corals, which makes them ideal for observing corallivory by butterflyfish. We analyzed each foraging video to quantify the number of bites that each butterflyfish took, and the identity of the substrates. These substrates include hard, soft, and dead coral. For bites on Orbicella spp., we recorded whether it was on a grazing scar made by a parrotfish. We recorded 1400 total bites and 500 bites on Orbicella spp. Our analyses will allow us to quantity the foraging preferences in C. capistratus, and identify if they prefer to graze on scarred tissue on Orbicella spp. If butterflyfish are eating corals that are scarred, it can compound the damage created by parrotfish and prevent corals from healing those wounds. This could have important effects on coral physiology and ecology.

Keywords: butterflyfish, parrotfish, coral, corallivory, grazing