This study examined the feeding preferences of parrotfish (genus Scaridae) on Great Barrier Reef on the windward reef flat of Heron Island in Queensland, Australia around high tides. We collected samples analyzing number of bites that parrotfish took from different surfaces, including 4 major coral morphological classifications and a rock/ground category. The coral growth forms were identified utilizing morphological descriptions in Corals of the World (Veron, 1986). Our hypothesis was that there would be no significant differences in parrotfish feeding behavior, since parrotfish are opportunistic feeders, feeding on whatever is available. However, our data indicate that parrotfish do not exhibited uniform feeding as originally assumed. We can also conclude that parrotfish are selectively feeding on encrusting and massive corals and selecting against branching coral growth forms ( Χ2=148.52, df=3, p<0.01). In addition, when parrotfish fed, they took significantly higher numbers of bites per visit to branching, encrusting, and massive corals per visit to non-biological surfaces ( H=19.631, df=4, p<0.001). Further research should analyze group feeding characteristics and expand transect area to more accurately reflect coral growth form distribution over the reef flat habitat.

The Effect of Coral Growth Forms on the Feeding Preferences of Parrotfish (Scaridae)in the Reef Flat off Heron Island, Australia.