Coral Triangle Reef Food Web
Coral Reef
Southeast Asia and Western Pacific — Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste
Description
The Coral Triangle spans six countries in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, containing 76% of all known coral species and over 2,000 reef fish species. This epicenter of marine biodiversity features complex food webs with extraordinary functional redundancy. Reef connectivity and larval dispersal link distant reefs into a meta-food-web.
Trophic Pyramid
Level 5
Decomposers
Detritivorous sea cucumbers
Coral-boring sponges
Microbial mats
3 species
Level 4
Tertiary Consumers
Whitetip reef shark
Manta ray
Whale shark
3 species
Level 3
Secondary Consumers
Napoleon wrasse
Giant trevally
Mantis shrimp
3 species
Level 2
Primary Consumers
Humphead parrotfish
Crown-of-thorns starfish
Sea cucumbers
3 species
Level 1
Producers
Zooxanthellae
Halimeda algae
Turf algae
3 species
Apex Predators
Tertiary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
Key Interactions
- Humphead parrotfish bioerode coral and produce coral sand
- Napoleon wrasse control crown-of-thorns starfish populations
- Manta rays and whale sharks filter-feed on zooplankton aggregations
- Cleaner stations host mutualistic parasite removal services