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Title: Elkhorn and Parrotfish. Cayman Islands
Filename: CAY14_am-14920.jpg
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A supermale stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) swims through a stand of elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) growing on a coral reef. East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. British West Indies. Caribbean Sea.
For about the last two million years, branching elkhorn coral has been a dominant shallow reef building species across the Caribbean. Then about 35 years ago things changed. This once abundant species died off to such an extent that it is now rare or even extinct over much of its former range. US waters are the best studied, and there the coverage of this species declined by 98% during the 1980s. That’s pretty typical for the region and this species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
For about the last two million years, branching elkhorn coral has been a dominant shallow reef building species across the Caribbean. Then about 35 years ago things changed. This once abundant species died off to such an extent that it is now rare or even extinct over much of its former range. US waters are the best studied, and there the coverage of this species declined by 98% during the 1980s. That’s pretty typical for the region and this species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
- Acroporidae
- Anthozoans: Anthozoa
- Astrocoeniina
- Bony Fishes: Osteichthyes
- British West Indies
- Caribbean Sea
- Cayman Islands
- Cnidarians: Cnidaria
- coral reef
- East End
- elkhorn coral: Acropora palmata
- Fishes
- Grand Cayman
- Invertebrates
- Marine Life
- Parrotfishes: Scaridae
- Stony Corals: Scleractina: Scleractinia
- stoplight parrotfish: Sparisoma viride
- tropical
- wide angle
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