The feces of coral-eating fish may work as a probiotic for polyps. Rice University reports.
Coral reefs are home to hundreds of species and are home to biodiversity. Until recently, it was thought that coral-eating fish weaken the structure of the reefs, while fish that feed on algae and debris keep the reefs healthy.
Now, Karsten Groupstra of Rice University and her colleagues set out to investigate the effects of both coral and herbivorous excrement on living corals. They placed the coral pieces in jars of sterile seawater and put the excrement of coral-eating and herbivorous fish in them. Some of the fecal samples were sterilized to determine if possible damage to corals was due solely to their chemical composition. After the experiment, each piece of coral was inspected for health and integrity. Finally, the scientists also studied the biome of fish excrement from different species.
It turned out that adding feces to the jars sometimes harms the corals and less often causes their death, while in the fecal-free jars the polyps remain healthy. Herbivorous excrement caused damage or death to all parts of the coral, while coral-eating excrement caused significantly less severe and multiple damage, and rarely resulted in death. Sterilized excrement of any type of fish caused little harm comparable to that of coral-eating excrement.
According to scientists, this may be due to the large number of coral pathogens found in fresh herbivorous feces. In contrast, beneficial bacteria predominated in the stools of the coral eaters. Thus, the feces of coral-eating fish can compensate for their damage thanks to the probiotics they contain.
ancient biologists raised artificial fat for “tube meat”.