Reef Fish Behavior

When I started to learn to identify coral reef fishes I couldn't help but wonder why there were such big differences in the shapes and behaviors of the different fishes.  As I started to learn more about it, I discovered that you could understand a lot about the differences between morphology and behavior simply by knowing what the fish eats, where it eats, and when it eats.

Here is a link to an article "Coral reef fish feeding behavior" that I wrote to try to help people understand the amazing diversity of feeding behavior in coral reef fishes.
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Coral_reef_fish_feeding_behavior_in_the_Caribbean


Some Good Online Resources

• Coral Reef Fish Feeding  Behavior: A complete guide to the feeding behavior of reef fishes.
• http://www.coralrealm.com/fish/feeding/feedingbehaviorintro.asp

• Coral Reef Fishes: Adaptations and Diversity- http://www.coral-reef-info.com/coral-reef-fishes.html

Additional Resources

Two of my favorite books about reef fish behavior are-

• Reef Fish Behavior, Florida, Bahamas, and Caribbean by Ned Deloach (a TTU grad, even students from the Southern High Plains can become marine biologists!)
• Pices Guide to Watching Fishes: Understanding Coral Reef Fish Behavior by Roberta Wilson and James Q. Wilson.

I have copies of both of these books and I am happy to share.