I'll give this a try.

Researcher Information

Morgan Will

Project Type

Event

Start Date

6-4-2018 12:00 AM

End Date

6-4-2018 12:00 AM

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Apr 6th, 12:00 AM Apr 6th, 12:00 AM

I'll give this a try.

Arothron meleagris is an obligate corallivorous pufferfish that scrapes tissue off the coral skeleton with its parrot-like beak. It is a common member of coral communities in the Galápagos Islands where it predominantly feeds on zooxanthellate scleractinian corals. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between frequency of Arothron meleagris bite marks and location on ridged vs. smooth portions of massive Porites lobata colonies. Differences may then be related to greater feeding efficiency. Images of coral colonies that have A. meleagris bites were taken off of Darwin Island, Galápagos, Ecuador in 2012. These images were analyzed using image analysis software (CPCE) in two ways: 1) bite frequency as it relates to overall colony morphology (ridged vs. smooth colonies), 2) and bite frequency as it relates to morphology within a colony (ridged vs. smooth areas of ridged colonies). There was a significant difference (t-Test, p = 0.02) in average bite frequencies between ridged and smooth colonies. There was also a significant difference between ridged and smooth areas within a ridged colony (t-Test, p = 0.01), suggesting that ridged areas are more frequently targeted by Arothron meleagris within ridged colonies. This may be due to ridged areas being more accessible, requiring less energy consumption to obtain necessary nutrients. This is consistent with expectations of optimal foraging strategy, especially considering the difficulties in processing carbonates along with gelatinous tissues.