answersLogoWhite

0

The coral reefs off Australia and Thailand demonstrate the complexity of this problem. Apparently, excess nutrients there resulted in the growth of plants favored by the crown-of-thorns starfish. That species proliferated. This starfish also eats coral in very high amounts. Obviously a large number of them can destroy a reef in a relatively short time span. Algae are in a symbiotic relationship with coral. Parrotfish, butterfly fish, angelfish, sea slugs, snails, worms and the crown-of-thorns starfish all eat corals.

members of the scaridae family of fish, carracterised by grinding pharyngeal jaws and a distinctly shaped head, eat algae off the coral on coral reefs, and certain species actually bite the coral and grind it up to consume the plant based algae within the coral, other species scrape the coral off the outside. there are many species of this family within coral reefs, examples include the brightly coloured parrot fish and massive buffalo fish

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?