Coral-eating fish feces may benefit reefs as 'probiotics'
The faeces of coral-eating fish may act as “probiotics” for reefs, according to a study. By eating some parts of the coral and then pooing in different areas of the reef, they are part of a cycle that redistributes beneficial microbes that can help coral thrive. The study found that faeces from corallivore fish caused fewer and smaller lesions and rarely caused death, and helped disperse helpful microbes, keeping the reefs healthy. The research was done to determine what types of bacteria were contributing to the impacts noticed on the coral, and whether the results of the faeces addition experiment could be applied to other fish that ate coral, algae and detritus.