Day 4 – March focus on Norfolk Island’s reef
Talk about getting your butterflyfish lined up in a row!
For 4 March, day 4 of my March focus, I chose to feature these images (above and the two immediately below) of several different species of butterflyfish in the one shot, because these speak to the diversity of butterflyfish that is enabled by a healthy coral reef environment.
Butterflyfish are ‘corallivores’, that is, they feed mainly on coral polyps and the energy-rich mucous that corals produce. Corals also make a great place for butterflyfish to shelter in and under. Without healthy corals, then fish like these will become more and more scarce.
A healthy coral reef means we get the opportunity to witness a variety of beautiful butterflyfish. We have 14 species of this family (Chaetodontidae) here on Norfolk Island that I have seen, and possibly more outside our lagoons. A further species, the Moorish idol (Family Zanclidae) mimics a butterflyfish but is from a different family.
Did you know that as much as 25 per cent of the ocean’s marine life depends on coral reefs (noaa.gov). Amazing!
As an aside, the mucous produced by coral has a couple of uses – to protect the coral, and as a sticky layer to trap the morsels of the food that corals like to eat. When we get the really low spring tides, particularly when it is calm as well, parts of the reef become exposed. The corals go into overdrive to produce this mucous to protect themselves from drying out. You will notice there is a distinct smell along the reef and you can often see the pinky coloured mucous strands in the water column.
