The animals that live in assocation with corals, make up a large part of the biodiversity on a coral reef. Therefore, they may have a big influence on its ecology, but it is often not completely clear of what type of relations epibiont- and host species have. This is valuable information for coral reef management, and the epibionts can potentially tell us more about the health status of a coral reef. In this study a selection of families of coral-associated fauna is studied in more detail. A holistic review study has shed more light on the host species distribution and on the host-specificity of epibiont species. Also the plans for fieldwork at Curacao this autumn will be discussed.
PhD student Roel will give his presentation this Thursday 30/09 at 16:00. It will be online; check your Naturalis mail for the link. People from outside Naturalis are welcome to attend; you can email our Colloquium manager Sylvia Mota de Oliveira for more information.