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Ile de la Passe Salomon atoll ocean side 10m

Description: Shallow reef terraces are where very large schools of grazing parrotfish are invariably found. These crop algae and in doing so serve two roles on the coral reefs. Firstly they keep the algae suppressed, which otherwise would result in the corals being outcompeted by the plants. Secondly they scrape off coral skeleton when they are feeding and are one of the main causes of the creation of coral sand. This sand may end up on small islands, consolidating them, or may end up in the crevices of the reef where it becomes consolidated to help the reef itself solidify and grow upwards.
Subject: fish coral_hard habitat
Subject: biological_organisms
Contact: Anne Sheppard
Contact email: a.sheppard@hotmail.com
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