Why you should help protect fish on or near coral reefs
Help protect fish on or near coral reefs. Fish are absolutely necessary for coral reef health. Fish need healthy coral reefs and coral reefs need healthy fish populations. In the same way people care for their homes, fish maintain coral reef ecosystems. Cleaning/Herbivores Algae compete with corals for space. They grow rapidly to crowd out or smother coral neighbors. Herbivores, like parrotfish and surgeonfish, clean coral reefs like housekeepers by eating algae. This creates space for corals to settle and grow. When these fish are missing algae can overgrow the living coral. Fertilization/Nutrients All fish within a coral reef help fertilize the corals. Fish like demoiselle fish swarm above their coral homes like living nets to gather plankton. Grunts, snappers and other foragers that eat away from the reef excrete new nutrients into the reef system when they return to the sheltering reef at night to rest. When the fish defecate over the reef the corals capture the pellets of nitra
