Queen parrotfish

Photo: Amy Deacon · CC BY-NC

Queen parrotfish at La Source are visible in their supermale terminal phase — brilliant blue-green with pink and orange facial markings — and in the more cryptically coloured initial phase that includes females. They scrape algae and the reef surface with fused beak-like teeth, excreting fine white sand that contributes significantly to Grenada's beaches. A single large supermale can produce over 90 kilograms of sand per year. Their grazing prevents algae from overgrowing coral and is considered one of the most important ecological services on Caribbean reefs.