Damselfish are known for cultivating their own algae gardens. Essentially Damselfish destroy the Coral, sucking on the coral polyps until they die, to create an area where algae may then grow. Australian researchers have now linked Damselfish to Coral decline, in a new study published in the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society B’. Part of the problem is that the predators which would control the Damselfish population are over fished, which has led to the growth of the Damselfish population. The study compared areas of Damselfish populated Coral versus areas of coral outside the Damselfish territory. The study revealed that the areas with the Damselfish presence had a higher abundance of bacteria and black band disease. MORE
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