Coral dynamics in a Damselfish territory HD скачать в хорошем качестве

Coral dynamics in a Damselfish territory HD

Territorial damselfishes play an important role on coral reefs, and their algal farms are exceptionally interesting and dynamic places! Recently we had a chance to check in on a farm that we have monitored for 4 years at Gowrie Bay on Yunbenun, Magnetic Island. The farmer here is the Australian Gregory (Plectroglyphidodon apicalis) and it cultivates a dark reddish algae, as well as boosting the settlement, growth and survival of juvenile corals in its territory. This sequence shows how quickly the juvenile corals are growing, as well as the dynamic changes in the fish's algal food. Have a look at the time series and see if you can spot how the area of the fish's farm changes with seasons and years. Why are fish helping corals to grow, if they take over space needed for the algal farm? We only found the answer after many years of careful observations - when the corals get large enough, the fish eventually start killing sections of the colony and thus establishing new frameworks for their algae to grow. Across the Indo-Pacific, the coral gardening activities of damselfish grow way more more baby corals than all the multi-million dollar human reef restoration programs combined - naturally and for zero cost!! Perhaps we should be creating damselfish habitat, letting the fish do the hard work or raising and protecting juvenile corals, then transplant the corals to new places on the reef at 3 years old before the fish start killing them? Literally, food for thought. www.coralseafoundation.net