Abstract

Loss of herbivores, thermal stress due to climate change, and disease outbreaks are among the factors leading to the degradation of Caribbean coral reefs. Although much attention has been focused on the loss of Diadema in the 1980’s, until recently, the importance of parrotfishes as grazers has been less researched. Parrotfishes are a major component of the di-verse assemblage of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs and possess the unique ability to remove all functional groups of al-gae. Parrotfishes have declined in much of the Caribbean largely due to fishing practices. In southeast Florida, they are not a historically heavily fished family, however changes in populations are still possible. Temperatures are consistently rising due to climate change which can cause changes in the proportions and densities of benthic organisms, particularly in algal dominated reefs. Parrotfish assemblages could be affected by these changes because they are some of the dominant primary grazers on the southeast FL reefs. There has also been speculation that parrotfish are being fished more now than in the past. Here we examine population trends in the last 20 years within the parrotfish family in southeast Florida. Six hundred and sixty-seven fisheries-independent visual census surveys were conducted in Broward County between 1998 and 2002 and 639 sites were surveyed between 2012 and 2014. Data on temporal changes between the two time periods will be presented. Outcomes from this study can be used to strengthen the management of parrotfishes in southeast Florida.

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