French Grunt

Photo: jracing_ · CC BY-NC

Thousands of French grunts shelter among and beneath the sculptures in tight synchronised schools, using the artificial structure as daytime refuge in exactly the same way they would use natural coral heads. The density of fish around the statues now rivals many natural Caribbean reefs, demonstrating how quickly artificial substrate is incorporated into reef food webs. At dusk the schools disperse to forage over surrounding seagrass and sand flats, returning each dawn.