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Entries for December 2011

Protecting a Lagoon’s Food Chain, Top to Bottom

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(December 22, 2011) DECEMBER 22, 2011 - Sensitive coral reef ecosystems require a delicate balance of marine life to thrive. From the barracudas at the top of the food chain to the algae at the bottom, the system works together to keep itself healthy. In an atoll reef lagoon in Glover’s Reef, Belize, WCS researchers have found that fishing closures produce encouraging increases in populations of predatory fish, like barracuda, groupers, and snappers. The numbers of herbivores like parrotfish and surge...

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