NEAQ: Aquarium Lecture Series

Corallivore’s Dilemma: Understanding the Relationship between Fish and the Corals They Consume
Randi Rotjan, Ph.D., Research Scientist, New England Aquarium.

Coral-eating (corallivorous) fishes have interacted with tropical corals for millennia. However, as coral cover globally declines and corallivore abundance changes, there is a need to understand the patterns, causes and consequences of corallivory (and little is yet known).

Over the past decade, Dr. Rotjan has investigated the interactions between corallivores and corals in the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Red Sea. In this lecture, she will draw global comparisons using a variety of field and lab experiments to describe why fish eat corals, how corals respond to being eaten and what coral-feeding means in a conservation context.

Registration is requested.

All programs start at 7 p.m. in the Aquarium's Harbor side Learning Lab, unless otherwise noted below. Programs last approximately one hour followed by a reception.

The Aquarium has been providing free lectures and films by scientists, environmental writers, photographers and others since 1972. The Aquarium Lecture Series is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Lowell Institute, which has been providing funding for free public lectures at universities and museums since 1836.