Food Web for a Coral Reef
A coral reef, like all ecosystems, depends on nutrient transfer from producers to consumers, though the density of species within a coral reef makes it unique. Such density promotes the evolution of niche species that often feed off of or interact with only one other species.
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Producers
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The primary foundation of a coral reef's food web is the producers-- lifeforms that create the organic compounds needed for survival using light and carbon dioxide. Phytoplankton, seaweed and other photosynthetic plants fall under this category.
Lower-level Heterotrophs
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Heterotrophs are creatures that require pre-existing organic compounds for survival. In other words, they consume other lifeforms. The simplest heterotrophs are zooplankton, which eat phytoplankton. Others are the corals that give the reef its name, small fish, worms and crustaceans. They form the middle of the chain.
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High-level Heterotrophs
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At the top of the food chain are sharks, whales, large fish like groupers and large turtles. These heterotrophs have few natural predators and are exponentially less numerous than creatures on the other tiers of the food web. When they die, their nutrients help support scavengers.
Scavengers
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Scavengers rely on the dead and decaying remnants of lifeforms for sustenance. These include small microbial decomposers, fungal cells, many snails and even some sharks. Their job is to break down organic waste for their own use and for the use of the producers, completing the web.
Unique Relationships
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Because of the sheer number of species, many unique relationships evolve wherein one species may rely entirely on another for survival. For example, the lamprey survives by eating detritus off of sharks, who are then healthier because of it. The clownfish hides in the stinging tendrils of the sea anemone and would have a hard time surviving without it.
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