Snails clear seaweed to keep coral reefs beautiful
June 4th, 2012 - 1:16 pm ICT by IANSSydney, June 4 (IANS) Tiny snails keep coral reefs and seashores stunningly beautiful by getting rid of the ugly seaweed that might otherwise crowd them, a study says.
“What may surprise many people is that we found that the strongest impacts of all were snails controlling seaweeds on rocky shores,” said Alistair Poore, associate professor at the University of New South Wales Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, who led the international study.
“Icons like the Great Barrier Reef would look very different otherwise: the corals and rocks are usually free of seaweed, but that’s only because animals eat all the plants as soon as they grow,” Poore was quoted as saying in the journal Ecology Letters.
The study team analysed results from over 600 experiments, conducted over the past 40 years worldwide, where ecologists have experimentally removed herbivores to understand their importance in structuring marine habitats, according to a university statement.
Manipulating animals in their natural habitats is the most powerful technique to understand how ecological interactions work, they noted.
“When these grazing animals are removed, the seaweeds quickly start to dominate,” added Poore.
- Acidic oceans endangering baby corals - Apr 19, 2012
- Weed-eating fish 'vital to coral reefs' survival' - Mar 11, 2011
- Study finds how sea urchins affect coral reefs' growth - Jan 15, 2011
- Indo-Pacific corals more resilient than Caribbean twins - Jul 13, 2012
- Gujarat coral reefs a virtual gold mine - Mar 27, 2011
- Warming climate damaging reefs, impacting fish - Jul 11, 2012
- Seaweeds fast endangering coral reefs - Jan 07, 2010
- Extreme weather threatens rich ecosystems - Apr 01, 2012
- Weed-eating fish key to reef's survival - Mar 11, 2011
- Marine life faces large-scale extinction risk - Aug 22, 2012
- Fish help coral coral reefs recover - Nov 14, 2011
- Google Earth helps reveal prey-predator relations - Jun 22, 2011
- Chemicals from seaweeds damage coral on contact - May 11, 2010
- Marine researchers call for international effort to save coral reefs - Oct 08, 2010
- Some corals unfazed by global warming - Mar 13, 2012
Tags: alistair, amp, associate professor, coral reefs, corals, ecological interactions, ecology letters, ecology research, grazing animals, great barrier reef, journal ecology, marine habitats, natural habitats, new south wales, poore, rocky shores, seaweed, seaweeds, snails, university of new south wales