Behavioral mechanisms of coexistence among coral-feeding butterflyfishes
Kosaki RK. 1999. Behavioral mechanisms of coexistence among coral-feeding butterflyfishes. University of Hawaii, UMI Co.
Dissertation explores the relationships among butterflyfishes and their intraspecific resource competition and predation of corals. The author discusses models of reef fish assemblage structure and the role of butterflyfishes in that structure. The chapters consist of: 2) effects of predation by Chaetodon trifasciatus on the growth and distribution of Pocillopora, 3) spatial and dietary overlap between two coral-feeding butterflyfishes, 4) experimental removal of a corallivorous chaetodontid: effects on the behavior of a sympatric territorial congener, and 5) the conclusion.