Protected coral reef found to recover
Photo by Zack Bittner
Damaged coral reefs can recover, in areas protected from fishing.
That’s according to a study based on extensive underwater surveys of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park in the central Bahamas. Earth & Sky spoke to a study author, Dan Brumbaugh of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He said this park is one of the oldest and best–enforced areas in the Caribbean for off–limits fishing – in what he called a “great model system” for looking at the effects of marine reserves.
Dan Brumbaugh: When we analyzed that data we could see the park was being really successful at protecting top predators such as Nassau groupers, which are a favored fished species in the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean.
These researchers feared that protecting groupers might ultimately harm coral. That’s because groupers feed on parrotfish, which help clear away algae that’s harmful to coral. But parrotfish were protected, too. Many grew big enough to intimidate predators away.
Dan Brumbaugh: And so, there’s less algae inside the park, four times less algae. The parrotfish are cleaning off spaces on the reef of algae which allow coral babies to settle there and to grow.
The result: better coral recovery where humans have protected an area, allowing nature to take its course.
Our thanks today to NOAA.
Trophic cascade facilitates coral recruitment in a marine reserve from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
No–fishing zones may revive coral from the Seattle Post–Intelligencer
Bahamas scientists say no–fishing zones help threatened coral from the San Diego Union–Tribune
Our thanks to:
Dan Brumbaugh
Senior Conservation Scientist
American Museum of Natural History
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
also
Visiting Scientist
NPA Science Institute
Office of NOAA
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As a diver, this just makes me appreciate the parrotfish all the more. You usually hear a parrotfish before you see it because of the munching they do on the coral. It’s great to see nature taking care of itself.
I would love to see a parrotfish! Pictures show them as beautifully iridescent blue marvels.
Sometimes a little intentional neglect can be a good thing.
I want a parrotfish that lives outside the water and not only cleans algae but also cleans rooms. Then it can clean my whole apartment! I would protect it from groupers of course. That parrotfish image was beautiful, thanks Jorge!