What ecological roles do they play on coral reefs?
Reef fishes contribute a large amount of biomass to reef ecosystems. Herbivorous fishes help control algal populations and keep fast growing algal species from out competing slow growing corals. It is estimated that herbivorous fishes ingest over 60% of the standing crop of algae present on reefs. Reef fishes are vital in that they transport large quantities of inorganic and organic nutrients between different sites of the reef as well as between off-reef and reef locations. For example, the common grunt will migrate to and from neighboring seagrass beds to feed. Thus, their fecal matter and urine greatly enrich reef communities with nitrogen, phosphorus, and particulate organic carbon. Also, it has been found that minerals captured by planktivorous damselfishes is deposited by the fish in their nocturnal shelters. In sum, the ecology of reef fishes is an area that has been poorly investigated, yet, reef fishes are known to be important to the biochemical cycling on reefs. -Montogomery
