Coral reef fish
Coral reef fish are fishes that live in or around coral reefs, using reef habitats for food, shelter, and breeding.
Coral reef: A marine ecosystem built chiefly by reef-forming corals and their calcium carbonate skeletons. Its crevices, surfaces, and food webs provide the habitat coral reef fish depend on.
Territoriality: The defense of an area against other individuals, usually to secure resources or reproduction. Some reef fish defend feeding patches, shelters, or breeding sites.
Coral reef fish survey: A field assessment that records fish abundance, diversity, or size on a reef. Surveys track changes in reef fish communities and support conservation decisions.
Coral bleaching: The loss of symbiotic algae or their pigments from corals, often caused by heat stress. Bleaching can reduce coral cover and the shelter available to reef fish.
Coral reef zonation: The distribution of reef organisms into zones shaped by depth, light, waves, and exposure. Different reef zones support distinct fish communities and shelter opportunities.
Recruitment (ecology): The addition of new individuals to a population through survival and entry into a defined life stage or area. Larval settlement and survival determine how many young fish join reef populations.
Marine protected area: A geographically defined marine region managed to conserve ecosystems and resources. Protection can reduce fishing pressure on reef fish and their habitats.
Ocean acidification: The ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused mainly by seawater absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Acidification can affect reef-building organisms and sensory behavior in some fish.
Trophic level: A position in a food chain or food web determined by how an organism obtains energy. Fish occupy varied feeding positions, from algae grazers to predators.
Larval dispersal: The movement of offspring away from their birthplace during an early, often planktonic, life stage. Currents can carry reef fish larvae between reefs or far from their parents.