The parrotfish paradigm. Corals and the reef bottom they live on need to stay clean to prevent seaweed from growing on their surfaces. Excessive seaweed growth on reefs can block sunlight from ...

The parrotfish eat coral, and when the coral comes out the other end, we get smooth white grains of sand. Related: A 9-pound crab breaks seabird's wings before eating it alive ...

These protected areas bring an incredible amount of biodiversity right into the bustling metropolis–including coral reefs.

Parrotfish are essentially janitors who are very good at their jobs. While cruising around the reef, these animals — which live in oceans all over the world — scrape colonies of bacteria and ...

Parrotfish eat the algae that grows on rocks and coral. Special plates in the throat called the pharyngeal mill grind up all that material, and the fish literally poop out sand as a result ...

Parrotfish are able to produce tonnes of sand each year. In the Caribbean and Hawaii, it’s estimated that up to 70% of beach sand has gone through the guts of parrotfish. Wherever you next lay down ...

Parrotfish feed on seaweed from coral reefs and grind it as part of the digestion process before defecating it in the form of sand. Just one parrotfish can produce up to 220 pounds of sand every year.

And the parrotfish isn’t alone here. “In places like Hawaii, where we have very little terrestrial input of sand, almost all of our sand is of biological origin,” Ong said.

JAMAICANS love parrotfish. Steamed, fried or roasted, the brightly coloured sea creature is a common feature on many a dinner plate. It’s also a favourite at the beach and at roadside eateries ...

Seeing a large male parrotfish out on the reef is very exciting because it is so colorful with bright blue, green, purple,red and yellow markings.