Riya Vaishnav
Concepts in Biology Project 2-Part 4
Sparisoma Viride
FINAL PROJECT
The stoplight parrotfish is a colorful reel fish with an elongated body with a rounded face. (Florida
Museum, 2017) It weighs about 3.5 pounds and is 22 inches tall. (Florida Museum, 2017) It can change
gender when there is a population imbalance of breeding females and males. (Florida Museum, 2017) It
moves by swimming with their pectoral fins in the ocean. (Florida Museum, 2017) The fins make strong
vertical movements. (Florida Museum, 2017) These can be found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean
(southern florida, bahamas, bermuda, caribbean sea, and brazil). (Florida Museum, 2017) It’s common to
be found in coral reefs. (Florida Museum, 2017) These fish are herbivores so they eat corals and algae
growing on rock surfaces. (Florida Museum, 2017) Social structure is characterized by haremic systems.
(Koltes, 1993) Haremic systems consist of one dominant male and many females. (Koltes, 1993) The
male defends a territory and females mate with the male exclusively. (Koltes, 1993) If other males try to
join, they are chased away by the male. (Koltes, 1993) This fish is a predator to coral reef ecosystems
since it eats algae and corals.(Porto et al, 2008) (Animal Discovery, 2010) Sparisoma viride engages in
mutualism in the sense that it can clean parasites off of other fish and coral bleaching. (Porto et al, 2008)
(Animal Discovery, 2010) It can also compete for food from other fish. (Porto et al, 2008) (Animal
Discovery, 2010) It’s a huge target for fishermen and if too many die, it causes an unhealthy coral reef
environment. (Porto et al, 2008) (Animal Discovery, 2010)
