| Summary: | To better understand the functional roles of parrotfishes on coral reefs in the Caribbean we documented the foraging behavior and diets of six species of parrotfishes (Scarus taeniopterus, Scarus vetula, Sparisoma aurofrenatum, Sparisoma chrysopterum, Sparisoma rubripinne, Sparisoma viride) at three locations (Long Reef, Cane Bay, and Buck Island) on the north shore of St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands. To quantify parrotfish behavior, approximately six individuals of each species were observed at each site for 20 min each. Foraging behavior was recorded by a SCUBA diver while towing a GPS receiver (Garmin GPS 72) attached to a surface float, which obtained position fixes of the focal fish at 15 s intervals. Fish were followed from a close distance (~ 2 m when possible), and food items were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, with macroalgae and coral usually identified to genus or species. Many bites involved scraping or excavating substrate colonized by a multi-species assemblage of filamentous “turf” algae and crustose coralline algae (CCA). Thus, multiple species of filamentous algae, endolithic algae, and CCA could be harvested in a single bite, and it was impossible to determine the specific species of algae targeted. We also recorded the type of substrate targeted during each foraging bout, categorizing each substrate as one of the following: (1) dead coral, (2) coral pavement, (3) boulder, (4) rubble, (5) ledge, or (6) sand. Dead coral included both convex and concave surfaces on the vertical and horizontal planes of three dimensional coral skeletons that were attached to reef substrate. When possible we distinguished between dead Acropora palmata and dead coral substrate created by other species (e.g., Diploria spp., Orbicella spp. etc). Coral pavement was carbonate reef with little topographic complexity (i.e., flat limestone pavement). Boulder was large remnants of dead mounding corals not clearly attached to the bottom and often partially buried in sand. Coral rubble consisted of small dead coral fragments (generally < 10 cm in any dimension) that could be moved with minimal force. Ledges were dead coral substrates with a slope greater than 90 degrees. In order to quantify the relative abundance of different substrates and food types, we estimated the percent cover of algae, coral, and other sessile invertebrates on each of the six substrates commonly targeted by parrotfishes (dead coral, coral pavement, boulder, rubble, ledge, and sand) in 0.5 m x 0.5 m photoquadrats. Photographs were taken at 2.5 m intervals on 30 m transects, with a total of 10 haphazardly placed transects sampled at each site. Each photoquadrat was divided into sixteen 12 cm x 12 cm sections which were individually photographed, and percent cover was estimated from 9 stratified random points per section (N = 144 point per quadrat).
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