I read that porkfish, a kind of grunt, grow up to 15", live in shallow water over reefs or rocks, and feed on a variety of invertebrates. Their range extends from Florida to Brazil, including the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas. The species has been introduced to waters off Bermuda. Like all grunts this nocturnal species makes a grunting sound by rubbing its teeth together. It often travels in large schools, occasionally swimming with white grunts, inhabiting shallow inshore waters over reefs and rocky bottoms, at depths of 6-65 feet (2-20 m).
The only grunt with this yellow and black coloration found in the Atlantic Ocean, it is closely related to the Pacific Burrito Grunt (Anisotremus interruptus) from which it has been separated by the isthmus of Panama for millions of years. Like so many species, that are now subject to the BP oil, images like this remind viewers of the fragile beauty of "The World Under."
Science Art-Nature: Bev Abbott has successfully shown how the two black bars can serve to confuse predators. The fish appear to have one bar on each side of the head and thus appear to be turning toward the viewer rather than toward the left.
Like many marine fish, porkfish are dependent on the diverse and sensitive ecosystems of coral reefs. Corals, which form the structural bases of these systems, are being destroyed by warming ocean temperatures, decreasing salinity, water acidification and
eutrophication (increased nutrient concentrations). It's estimated that about 10 percent of Earth's coral reefs are already dead and that without a dramatic reduction of anthropogenic CO2 , that number could grow to 50 percent by 2030.
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