At the Strike of Midnight

Parrotfish are vital characters in the coral reef ecosystem. As they munch on the macroalgae and sponges that, if left unchecked can smother reef-building corals, Parrotfish take on the role of gardeners pruning back growth and keeping it in a healthy range. The health and behavior of the near hundreds of different species of parrotfish found on the reef, can be used as a gauge for how the rest of the system may be fairing.

While helping a conservation group in the Dominican Republic, my group was learning how to ID the different species and life-cycles of parrotfish to record the populations most commonly found on the reef. Our instructor insisted that before we can learn to ID the parrotfish in the sea, we must ID the parrotfish within ourselves. Given my intensely blue hair at that time, I was likened to a midnight parrotfish, but (as you will see from this paper) I hope this was a comparison of only appearance and not temperament.

Midnight Parrotfish Scarus coelestinus

A very short paper from the Burkpile lab here at UCSB, studied the behavior of groups of juvenile Midnight parrotfish. While normally herbivorous, these juveniles will occasionally hunt in packs and raid the nests of other fish (mainly sergeant major damselfish) for eggs. While it is common for some species of fish to raid the nest of competing individuals of the same of a different species, this paper points out that this seems to be the first time that this behavior has been seen in parrotfish.

Adam, T.C., Kelley, M., Ruttenberg, B.I. et al. Groups of roving midnight parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus) prey on sergeant major damselfish (Abudefduf saxatilis) nests. Mar Biodiv 47, 11–12 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-016-0475-4