Author: Bob Beale
Source: Phys.org
[1]May 31, 2012

"Coral reefs and seashores largely look the way they do because large fish and urchins eat most of the seaweed that might otherwise cover them, but a major new study has found that the greatest impact of all comes from an unexpected quarter – small marine snails.

The study published in the journal Ecology Letters is the largest of its kind ever undertaken into the ecological impacts of marine grazing animals: it was led by Associate Professor Alistair Poore, of the UNSW Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, who worked with an international team of 10 researchers.

It found that, on average, marine herbivores remove almost 70% of the plant material growing on the sea floor – an effect far greater than grazing animals have on land plants."

To read the full text of the article, click here [2].