Reef Fish
Emma Brown & Gracie Lehmkuhl
What is a fish?
All fish:
Vertebrate Aquatic
Have a bony or cartilaginous Live in water for all or most of its
backbone lifetime
Anamniotes Fins
Lay their eggs in aquatic Appendages that interact with
environments water to aid in swimming
Only some fish:
Poikilotherms Gills Scales
Internal temperature Respiratory organ that Rigid plates that serve as
adjusts with the external are used to extract protection & camouflage
temperature dissolved oxygen from through the use of
water and excrete CO2 reflection and coloration
Fish taxonomy
● Domain: Eukaryota
● Kingdom: Animalia
● Phylum: Chordata
● Classes::
○ Agnatha (jawless fish)
○ Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
○ Osteichthyes (bony fish)
● Species:
○ Approximately 34,000 species as of 2024
■ ~ 100 jawless fish
■ ~ 1,100 cartilaginous fish
■ ~ over 32,000 bony fish
Cleaning stations
How it works
1. A client swims to a cleaning station
2. The client signals that they wish to be
cleaned
3. The cleaner(s) remove and eat parasites
and dead skin from the client’s skin, mouths
and/or gills
4. The cleaner(s) hops off the client
5. The client swims away
Mutualism!
The client gets removed of parasites and/or
dead skin and the cleaner gets to food
Wrasses
Yellowhead Wrasse (Halichoeres garnoti)
Identifying features: Yellow with silvery grey hind half
and a vertical black bar and stripe along the border of
the dorsal fin
Size: Maximum 19 cm (7.5 in)
Where to look: Lives among rocks, sand/gravel, and
anemones
Fun fact: Most wrasses are carnivorous!
Other species: Puddingwife, Clown Wrasse, Rainbow
Wrasse, Slippery Dick, Blackear Wrasse, Yellowcheek
Wrasse, Spotfin Hogfish, Spanish Hogfish, Hogfish,
Creole Wrasse, Dwarf Wrasse, Rosy Razorfish
Parrotfishes
Queen Parrotfish (Scarus vetula)
Identifying features: Dramatic blue to green markings
around mouth, light bar on pectoral fin
Size: Maximum male 60 cm (24 in), average female 25
cm (10 in)
Where to look: Found on both rocky and coral reefs at
depths down to ~25 m (80 ft)
Fun fact: They are born female and some change sex
to male!
Other species: Blue Parrotfish, Midnight Parrotfish,
Rainbow Parrotfish, Stoplight Parrotfish, Redtail
Parrotfish, Yellowtail Parrotfish, Princess Parrotfish,
Striped Parrotfish Bucktooth Parrotfish, & many more!
Sharks
Nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)
Identifying features: 2 barbells on upper lip, 2 dorsal
fins of nearly equal size, far set back small mouth
Size: Average 2.2 to 2.9 m (7.5 to 9 ft), maximum 4.3 m
(14 ft)
Where to look: Usually found hiding under rock
shelves on the ocean bottom in shallow water
Fun fact: Their local name is “gato”!
Other species: Bull Shark, Hammerhead Shark,
Blacktip Shark, Tiger Shark, Lemon Shark
Eels
Green Moray Eel (Gymnothorax funebris)
Identifying features: Uniform green to brown color
Size: Average 1.8 m (6 ft) , maximum 2.4 m (8 ft)
Where to look: Often hide in crevices in rocks
Fun fact: Its green color comes from a protective layer
of mucus secreted by its specialized goblet cells!
Other species: Chestnut Moray, Viper Moray, Spotted
Moray, Backedge Moray, Chain Moray, Goldentail
Moray, Purplemouth Moray, Garden Eel, Spotted Snake
Eel, Goldspotted Eel, Sharptail Eel
Rays
Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari)
Identifying features: Numerous white spots and
circular markings over dark back
Size: Maximum width 3.3 m (10.8 ft) and length 5 m
(16.4 ft)
Where to look: They are known to jump out the water,
school (sometimes), and dig their snouts into the sand
Fun fact: Its name comes from its distinctive spots and
a snout that somewhat resembles an eagle's beak!
Other species: Southern Stingray, Yellow Spotted
Stingray, Manta ray
Damselfish
Yellowtail Damselfish (Microspathodon
chrysurus)
Identifying features: Large bright blue dots on dark
blue with a translucent to white tail (juvenile), small blue
dots along dorsal side on grey/brown with bright yellow
tail (adult)
Size: Average 10 to 18 cm (4 to 7 in)
Where to look: Reef tops and juveniles often inhabit
areas of fire coral
Fun fact: They participates in clutch cannibalism!
Other species: Bicolor Damselfish, Honey Damselfish,
Dusky Damselfish, Longfin Damselfish, Beaugregory,
Threespot Damselfish, Cocoa Damselfish, Sunshine
Fish, Brown Chromis, Sergeant Major, & many more!
Conservation
● In 2006 it was found that live coral cover had declined from approximately 30% in 1995 to
an average of 11%!
● Parrotfish are being overfished!
○ The proportion of parrotfish in the catch doubled between 2004 and 2008
● Algae can smother corals and stunt their growth
○ A reef that had once been very healthy with 75% coral cover now has less than
20% coral cover because of algae over-growth
● How to help:
○ The government of Belize passed a Fisheries Regulations law in 2009 to protect
overfished species.
○ The 2020 Fisheries Resources Act added new regulations to those established in
2009.
○ SIngle-use plastic bags, styrofoam, and plastic utensils are being phased out
○ Use reef safe sunscreen
○ Leave nature cleaner than you found it
○ Be mindful of your own carbon footprint
Fish time!
& Questions
Resources
What is a fish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish
https://www.britannica.com/animal/fish
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish
https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/biological/fish/what-fish#:~:text=Most%20fishes%20breathe%20with%20gills,exchange%20gas%20through%20their
%20stomachs.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/anamniotes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livebearers#:~:text=Livebearers%20are%20fish%20that%20retain,%2C%20mollies%2C%20platies%20and%20swordtails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_fin
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/poikilotherm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungfish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_scale
Fish taxonomy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_of_fish
https://www.britannica.com/animal/fish/Annotated-classification
Fish of Belize
https://ambergriscaye.com/fieldguide/animals.html
https://ambergriscaye.com/fieldguide/bzanimals.html
https://ambergriscaye.com/fieldguide/Belize_reef_identification.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaning_station
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347201918329
Conservation
https://reefresilience.org/case-studies/belize-fisheries-management-2/
https://www.wwf.org.uk/success-stories/protecting-belize-barrier-reef#:~:text=Incredibly%20Belize%20is%20now%20leading,off%20UNESCO's%20in%2Ddanger%
20list!
