Underwater cameras identify coral-eating fish in Florida

Marine scientists in Florida have developed an underwater surveillance system to study fish that eat coral. Using cameras, they identified three species responsible for over 97% of coral predation at a reef near Miami. The study revealed that redband parrotfish, foureye butterflyfish, and stoplight parrotfish are the main culprits. This information can help improve coral restoration efforts, which have faced significant challenges due to fish predation. Researchers faced initial technical issues but successfully recorded fish behavior over six weeks. They plan to explore artificial intelligence to streamline video analysis in future studies.