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The Potential For Top-Down Control Of The Corallivorous Gastropod Coralliophila Galea And Its Effect On Coral Reef Ecosystems, Tanya Y. Kamerman

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Corallivores are understood to be ecologically important. However, their effects on reef ecosystems are difficult to distinguish from the multiple anthropogenic stressors currently affecting reefs. The corallivorous muricid snail, Coralliophila galea, has been documented to have a strong negative impact on Caribbean coral reefs, including curtailing reef recovery following other stressors. Although the basic biology of C. galea is relatively well understood, the limited information on its predators prevents a complete understanding of predator-snail-coral relationships, which limits proper protection and conservation of coral reef ecosystems. To determine the impact predators of C. galea have on coral reef ecosystems, I assessed …