ABSTRACT
Parrotfishes (Scarinae, Labridae) are widely regarded as herbivores because of their frequent feeding on reef surfaces covered by benthic algae. The robust jaws of the parrotfishes, however, makes them one of the most versatile fish groups in tropical reefs; enabling them to feed on almost all reef surfaces, including live coral colonies. Coral predation, nevertheless, is not uniform among the parrotfishes, as most corallivorous parrotfishes are large bodied, typically excavating, species that bite deeper into the coral skeleton. Corallivory by parrotfishes may affect the growth and morphology of coral colonies, the distribution of adult colonies of preferred prey species, and the survivorship of coral recruits. Partial mortality of coral colonies by parrotfish grazing is a common and direct effect of the removal of live coral tissue and portions of the underlying skeleton, but total colony mortality events appear to be rare. This chapter reviews parrotfish corallivory, with special focus to: (1) identify the main characteristics, drivers and consequences of coral predation by parrotfishes; (2) the likely implications of anthropogenic disturbances and reef degradation to parrotfishes, and to their roles as coral predators; and (3) the identification of current knowledge gaps in parrotfish corallivory and areas for future research.
