Written by: Alisha Thakur (11th grade / Ashburn, VA USA)
Editor: Noelle A. Koo (11th grade / Ashburn, VA USA)
Topic of exploration: Biodiversity, Organismal study, and Ecology
Research Problem:
Darwin’s paradox was an issue identified by Charles Darwin in 1842. Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, teeming with life in the form of fish, corals, sponges, turtles, crabs, lobsters, and many more. However, in locations where reefs form, there are not many sources of nutrients. Thus, scientists have been confused for ages with the issue of where the organisms that live in coral reefs get the nutrients to thrive. A study published a few months ago proposed a possible solution to this paradox that revolves around cryptobenthic fish.
Summary:
Cryptobenthic fish are a very small, diverse type of fish. They are the smallest vertebrates found in reefs, and there are currently over 3000 known species of them. Simon Brandl, one of the main contributors to a research study analyzing these organisms' populations and health, wondered if the cryptobenthic fish could be a prominent food source for larger organisms. In other marine ecosystems, plankton and algae are among the most important food sources, but there are not enough amounts of these organisms in coral reefs to support the diverse community found in reefs. To find out the abundance of these fish in coral reefs, the researchers put 58 different nets in various reefs throughout Belize, French Polynesia, and Australia. It was discovered that there was up to 100 fish in every square meter of coral reef. Also, 70% of the fish larvae was found to belong to cryptobenthic fish. The fish and its larvae amounted to 60% of all the biomass in the reefs. Because of the fish’s relatively small life cycle and the fact that it would make many life cycles in a smaller amount of time, they create a continuous food supply for larger organisms. The previously unknown numbers that were found in this study could be one of many factors that contribute to solving Darwin’s paradox, which has perplexed scientists for more than a century.
Interest:
I thought it was really interesting that scientists are still attempting to find the answers to questions that were asked so long ago. It gives me some hope that some of the more complex questions that are asked today that do not seem to have an answer will be solved in the future. Also, this research leads to many more possibilities. There are many other miniscule animals, such as crabs and shrimp, that are abundant in coral reefs but are not studied that much that could also contribute to feeding larger organisms. Now that a link between cryptobenthic fish and supporting reefs has been found, there could be further research done on these other marine organisms and the niche that they fill in coral reefs. In addition, it has been hypothesized that cryptobenthic fish also feed other marine ecosystems such as coastal mangroves. This leads to many other studies that could be conducted to test this theory.
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