Testing sea urchin and green sea turtle consumption of the allelopathic macroalga Galaxaura divaricata.

ABSTRACT: Galaxaura divaricata is a partially calcified macroalga that hampers coral recruitment, growth, and recovery via the excretion of allelopathic secondary metabolites. Herbivorous fishes are not major consumers of Galaxaura spp. and there is a need to understand feeding preferences for Galaxaura divaricata in other macroherbivores, like sea urchins and green sea turtles that could act as potential controlling agents. Under certain environmental conditions, G. divaricata can proliferate and overgrow degraded reefs for several years, as documented for several coral patch reefs in the lagoon of Dongsha Atoll, South China Sea. This study aimed to experimentally test the feeding preferences of five species of sea urchin and two individual green sea turtles, C

SUBMITTER: Nieder C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11045560 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature