Coral reef loss helps some fish grow bigger, but perhaps not for long

A new study finds that large, herbivorous fish species, such as parrotfish, surgeonfish and rabbitfish, benefit from coral reef demise due to an increase of a food source, algal turf. Certain fish species grew larger in response to coral loss and increased algal turf, contributing to an increase in reef fish biomass, although the study suggests that any gains would be short-lived. Data for this study were collected between 2003 and 2018 off the coast of Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef,...

Original Article