Feeding

responses of parro.ish
rela1ng to coral morphology

By Josh, Ka1e, Tahlia, Alex, Summer & Brooke

Introduc)on

Parro.ish are the main grazers on coral reef communi1es play a
vital role in the ecosystem, as the key producers of sand on coral
reefs, but can also be destruc1ve

Coral morphology varies with depth due to many abio1c factors
such as wave ac1on, temperature, light exposure etc.
Further understanding of the rela1onship between coral types and
parro.ish can predict possible eects of climate change on reef
ecosystems (sea level rise, ocean acidica1on, increased
temperatures)

Parro-ish

Average length of 20 50cm

Teeth are fused to form a beak to enable coral grazing

They can experience female to male sex changes and they display
dierent colour paPerns according to sex and growth stage
Feeding has an important impact on coral reefs
Ingest large amounts of algae, sand and coral rock which is broken down
into ne par1cles by pharyngeal teeth
This contributes to the boPom sediment when
Passed out with the faeces
Vital for the reef ecosystem through bio-erosion

Research Plan
Research ques)on:
Our study aims to test dierences in parro2ish
feeding preferences at dierent depths.

Hypothesis:
Parro.ish behaviour (feeding preferences) will
change with diering depths (0-5m, 10-20m), due
to change in coral morphology.

Methods
To inves1gate Coral Morphology:
2 x 30m transects recording 5 main coral types at each depth
(shallow & deep)
- Branching
- Encrus1ng
- Pla1ng
- Massive
- Sand/Rubble
Bite Rate (Bites/min) recorded

Date, Time, Weather, Loca)on, Wind Speed: 05/09/16, Partly cloudy, Plate Ledge, 20 knots
Fish Type Size Plate Branch Encrus1ng Massive Sand/rubble Total bites/
min.

1
2
3

Bicolour

small

14

29

Loca)ons

Sta)s)cal Analysis
Generalised Addi1ve Model
Variables:
Loca1on
Time of day (morning, a`ernoon)
Size
Species
Depth (0-5m, 5-20m)
Coral types

Results

Importance:
N containing models:

Models ranked by AICc(x) > importance (dredging)

Branching Encrusting Site
Time of Day Size
0.58
0.58
0.47
0.43
0.41
42
42
42
42
42

Depth
0.35
42

Max Wind
0.26
42

Discussion
Rela1onship between variables (depth, coral type, sh size,
1me of day, weather) shows coral type to be the most
inuen1al to parro.ish feeding
Disproved the hypothesis (depth is not the inuencing
factor)
Understanding that the variable with most importance is
coral type has many implica1ons;
o How resilient branching/encrus<ng
corals are to climate change may
implicate the abundance and
resilience of parro2ish in the future
o Be>er understanding of the role of
Parro2ish in the reef ecosystem

Altera)ons to Method
ORIGINAL

ALTERATION

REASON

Follow parro.ish for 5

minutes

Follow parro.ish to 3
minutes

Increase accuracy of data

Increase sta1s1cal popula1on

Sample 3 main species of

parro.ish evenly

Sample all/any species of

parro.ish

Inability to ID parro.ish species

accurately
Increase accuracy of data

3 sh sampled per surveyor As many sh as possible

Increase sta1s1cal popula1on
per rep. (18)
within 1me frame avilable Increase accuracy of data
Sample at exposed/
sheltered sites

Sample only at sheltered

sites

High wind/swell (variable

weather condi1ons

Future Recommenda)ons
Changes to collec)on methods:
Establish more consistency between data collectors to enable bePer accuracy of data
Data collectors to have a greater knowledge of sh species (to ID samples) and
dis1nguish between adult/juvenile and ini1al/terminal phases
Ensure equipment is available (requires bePer planning and communica1on)

Changes to experimental design:
Conduct experiment over longer period of 1me to reduce possible bias (weather, swell,
seasons, temperature etc.)
Larger sta1s1cal popula1on to increase accuracy
Data collec1on at more sites to compare the eects of loca1on on feeding preferences
Follow Reef Check methods more closely (e.g. 4x20 transects at each site)

Future research areas to explore:
Availability of branching and encrus1ng corals on reefs and the eect on parro.ish
abundance
The eects of climate change on coral morphologies and the implica1ons for parro.ish

THANK YOU