Transport of Calcareous Fragments by Reef Fishes
- 13 January 1961
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 133 (3446), 98-99
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.133.3446.98
Abstract
The weight of sand, coral scrapings, algal fragments, and other calcareous materials which pass through the intestines of reef fishes was calculated on a hectare-per-year basis. It was found that browsing omnivorous reef fishes which rely, in part, on a plant diet ingested and redeposited at least 2300 kg of such material on a 1-hectare study reef near Bermuda. Reasons are presented why this estimate, certainly in order of magnitude, should be applicable to coral reefs in general.This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Ecological Relationships of the Fish Fauna on Coral Reefs of the Marshall IslandsEcological Monographs, 1960
- Utilization of Algae for Growth by the Angelfish, Holacanthus bermudensisICES Journal of Marine Science, 1959
- The Summer Standing Crop of Fish on a Shallow Bermuda Reef1Limnology and Oceanography, 1959