Cleaner Wrasse

[Originally posted to the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (MCR LTER) Marine Life Encyclopedia]

Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse - ‘Atoti
(Labroides dimidiatus)

Photo by Gerick Bergsma. Text by Tom Adam.

The Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse occupies territories (often referred to as “cleaner stations”) where it is visited by a wide variety of different “client” fishes which solicit the cleaner’s services.

	Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to the Line, Marquesan and Ducie islands. North to southern Japan, south to Australia and Rapa.
	Coral reefs 1 to 40 meters deep.
	Feed on external parasites removed from other fishes (primarily parasitic gnathiid isopods).
	Cleaners avoid becoming lunch for larger piscivorous fish (fish which commonly eat other fish), despite the tendency of cleaners to enter the mouths of some fish while cleaning them.
	- Fish Base - Tom Adam's PhD Research - Moorea Biocode Database

Filamentous Turf

[Originally posted to the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (MCR LTER) Marine Life Encyclopedia]

Filamentous Turf Algae
(multiple species)

Photo by Gerick Bergsma

	Oceans worldwide
	Covers rocks, dead coral, and other hard surfaces.
	Algae require sunlight and carbon dioxide to perform photosynthesis.
	Filamentous Turf Algae is comprised of a number of different algal species with varied morphology. This diverse mix of algae only attains a canopy height of 1 to 10 mm, but provides a complex habitat for many crustaceans and worms. Algal turf contributes up to 80% of coral reef primary productivity, making it a major food source for animals on the reef.
	Coming Soon - Moorea Biocode Database

coralline algae

[Originally posted to the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (MCR LTER) Marine Life Encyclopedia]

Crustose coralline algae (CCA)
(Pneophyllum conicum)

Photo by Gerick Bergsma. Text by Nichole Price.

Coralline algae lay down layers of calcium carbonate to build their crusts, just like corals do! Depending on the intensity of water flow, CCA can grow as flat sheets covering the reef floor or as free rolling rhodoliths that look like tumbleweeds.

	Crustose coralline algae (CCA), or calcareous red algae (CRA), encrust reef pavement as “living rocks” in both temperate and tropical regions worldwide! Because particular CCA are so difficult to identify with the naked eye, it is difficult to specify a species range; however, P. conicum is probably limited to the tropical Indo-Pacific.
	Reef drop-offs and overhangs from 0-30m. This alga prefers shaded crevices.
	Sunlight and CO2
	This CCA can overgrow and kill live coral in the Caribbean.
	- Kate Buenau's PhD Research - Maggie Johnson's Graduate Research - CCA - Moorea Biocode Database

Crown of Thorns Seastar

[Originally posted to the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (MCR LTER) Marine Life Encyclopedia]

Crown of Thorns Seastar - Talamea
(Acanthaster planci)

Photo by Gerick Bergsma

	Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef, Hawiian islands.
	Can be found on seabeds and reefs, but prefer to be sheltered from strong currents and weather.
	Crown of Thorns Seastars feed on coral polyps by spreading their stomach out through the mouth, secreting digestive juices, and sucking in the remains.
	Touching the spines of the crown-of-thorns seastar can be very painful, because each spine releases toxic chemicals into the skin when it stings.
	- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - Moorea Biocode Database