Why Coral Reefs Need Fish Pee To Thrive

    • Dheeraj.Jangra@timesgroup.com
    • Publish Date: Aug 29 2016 8:12PM
    • |
    • Updated Date: Aug 31 2016 3:19PM
Why Coral Reefs Need Fish Pee To Thrive

New research shows overfishing of large, predatory fish deprive coral reefs of an essential nutrient —fish pee.

Coral reefs and fish are dependent upon each other for their survival. While coral reefs provide fish with food and habitat, the fish return the favour in the form of nutrient-rich urine. When fish urinate, they release phosphorus into the water. This phosphorus, along with nitrogen excreted as ammonium through the gills of fish, are crucial to the survival and growth of coral reefs.

The study also found that reefs with more large, predator fish had healthy levels of nutrients, while reefs depleted of large fish had nearly 50 percent fewer nutrients. 

This video explains the delicate relationship between the fish and coral reefs:  

"Fish hold a large proportion, if not most, of the nutrients in a coral reef in their tissue, and they're also in charge of recycling them," said the study lead author Jacob Allgeier, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. "If you take the big fish out, you're removing all of those nutrients from the ecosystem," Allgeier said.

During his research, Allgeier caught live fish, put them in plastic bags and studied the nutrients in the water before and after 30 minutes. He found that larger carnivorous fish would urinate more phosphorous than smaller, herbivorous fish.

Importance of coral reefs
Often called “rainforests of the sea”, coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean surface, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for 25% of all marine species. However, they grow very slowly—anywhere from 0.3 cm to 10 cm per year. The reefs we see today have been growing over the past 5 000 to 10 000 years.
Reefs operate on what scientists call a “tight” nutrient cycle, meaning there must be an efficient transfer of nutrients for coral to grow. This cycle is largely controlled by fish. 

While coral reefs continue to face environmental pressures all over the world, Allgeier says curbing fishing that targets large predator fish may help the reefs recover and thrive.
 
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Comments

Harini MS NAGARJUNA VIDYANIKETAN

We can take care of coral reefs by adopting them. People are adopting rhinos and other endangered species as well, so why not adopt coral reefs and help to maintain them?

Shantanu Jain The Orbis School

When fish urinate, they release phosphorous into the water. They also excrete nitrogen through their gills, and both are vital for the growth and survival of coral reefs.And Fishes play a major role in moving nutrients around which are necessary for reefs.

Kritika Malhotra Indira National School

It is important that we curb fishing practices that target big fish for we need to save corals revive and survive. they are necessary indirectly for us to survive.

NAVYA MALHOTRA SWARAJ INDIA PUBLIC SCHOOL

We need to lessen the wastage of water so that the polluted water does not reach seas and inhibit the survival of the corals

Ritvik Baweja Bal Bharati Public School

Everything in this world is inter-dependent on something or the other. Fish pee is important for coral reef to remain healthy. But due human activities such as fishing these fishes get disturbed and change their locations. We should take care over our attitudes towards our coral reefs and stop harming mother nature

Varnika Gyan Devi Salwan Public School

The concept of coral leaves AMD the fish is a bot unique thinking. The fishes are interdependent over the corals and vice versa. The urine of fish or a rich supplement of phosphorus , as we knew but this nutrient for corals . That''s an amazing fact , and need to be revealed to the genius students because this will held them as a science fact

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