[Coral-List] How important a food source is the wayward larvae?
MelissaE Keyes
melissae.keyes at yahoo.com
Mon Oct 31 12:48:48 EDT 2016
Hi, folks,
I had no idea how to word my title, sorry, it's a bit awkward.
I was thinking about coral larvae that settle on the reef, but that are unable to find a suitable substrate on which to live. They are prey for other creatures, no? Tiny shrimps and crabs and juvenile or tiny fish? How will a reef be impacted by the loss of mature corals that create such a miniscule-sized abundance of food? Will the juvenile corals that do attach be attacked, because the unattached numbers have been reduced so drastically that the abundance is gone?
Cheers,
Melissa~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Melissa E. Keyes St. Croix, U.S.Virgin Islands
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