A study led by Associate Professor Kelton McMahon at University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has found that food webs on tropical reefs are more fragile than we once thought. Instead of being part of a highly connected system where species can easily switch food sources, many reef creatures in these incredibly biodiverse ecosystems rely on surprisingly narrow, specialized energy pathways that link specific species to distinct sources of primary production.
Coral reef food webs revealed to be more siloed and vulnerable than previously understood
