Study Shows Tiny Fish Feed On Coral Reefs – ScienceDaily



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Scientists have long sought to understand how coral reefs support such abundance of fish, despite their location in nutrient-poor waters. According to a new study published May 23 in the newspaper Science, an unlikely group feeds these communities: tiny creatures living in the bottoms called "cryptobenthic" reef fish.

The study shows that these fish play a vital role in coral reefs, providing nearly 60% of the fish food consumed by constantly restoring their populations in a fast cycle of life and death.

"Scientists have been perplexed about coral reefs for centuries, wondering how such productive and diverse ecosystems survive in what is essentially a marine desert," said lead author Simon Brandl, formerly of the watershed network. Smithsonian marine observers Tennenbaum and currently a postdoctoral fellow, Simon Fraser. University. "It is remarkable to note that these tiny, almost universally neglected fish are in fact the cornerstone of coral reef fish communities."

Cryptobenthic reef fish, such as gobies, blennies and cardinal fish, are the smallest marine vertebrates. Although their size varies, the smallest cryptobenthic will never reach 1 inch and will weigh almost nothing. Other coral reef inhabitants consume these fish in large quantities, most in the first weeks of their existence.

Instead of disappearing, however, cryptobenthic fish populations thrive despite constant predation. The researchers solved this paradox by studying reef fish larvae. While the larvae of most fish species disperse in the high seas, where only a few survive, cryptobenthics behave differently. Brandl and his team found that most cryptobenthic larvae appear to stay close to their parents' reefs, leaving many more survivors among their babies. These larvae then quickly replace the cryptobenthic adults eaten on the reef, allowing larger reef fish to grow.

"We found that cryptobenthic fish larvae absolutely dominated the larval fish communities near the reefs, providing a continuous stream of new generations of tiny fish as a food source for other reef creatures," he said. said Carole Baldwin, co-author of the study and curator. fish at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. "It's amazing that these fish contribute so much to the coral reefs.They are so small that historically, we have not recognized their enormous importance."

Australian, Canadian, French and American scientists contributed to this research. The team studied cryptobenthics in Belize, French Polynesia and Australia, analyzed decades of data on coral reef fish larvae, and developed a population model to better understand how cryptobenthics contribute to food inhabitants of coral reefs.

The study began in 2015, while Brandl was a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian's Global Marine Observatory (MarineGEO), but these tiny fish are more relevant today than ever before. While coral reefs are in dramatic decline, their fish communities – and the people who depend on them – can be at risk. The researchers hope that the great diversity of cryptobenthics and their unique way of life can make it a solid base for coral reefs.

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Material provided by Smithsonian. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.

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