Parrotfish poop for healthy reefs!
Consider what makes healthy reefs in this, the 3rd International Year of the Reef (IYOR). Dr. Farahnaz Solomon, Marine Biologist and IYORTT team member, provides some insight into the characteristics of one of the more colourful and important coral reef inhabitants – parrotfishes. She highlights the vital role they play and why their protection is necessary to ensure the persistence of reefs in Tobago and the Caribbean. As a lover of bright vivid colors, my admiration was won instantly by the delightfully garish parrotfishes, inhabitants of coral reefs. These thick scaled reef inhabitants possess a very fickle sense of fashion – not only does every species have a different color scheme, but they also change “outfits” as they move from babies, to juveniles, to adults. As my interest in reef fish deepened, I quickly learnt that there were more fascinating, albeit unusual, characteristics of these beauties than colour. Their diet, sleeping behaviour, and sexual orientation are all f...