The Trophic Project

WEAVING THE FINTASTIC FOODWEB:

A Quest through literature.

Context: We are currently working on understanding how coral reef resilience is
affected by climate change and overfishing. To understand resilience we must try
to understand the ecological community’s interactions and responses to change.
We are hoping to get information on trophic interactions for each of the species
posted on this board with help of undergraduate students from all over the
biology department.

How will it work: Every 2 weeks of 2025 we will post new photos of 2 or 3
different species of fish occurring in the Mesoamerican Reef. Any student willing
to help will search for published papers related to the diet of the species, and will
write the citation on the provided paper cards and place it in the corresponding
envelope pinned below the photos. The search should be done using the
keywords listed in this instructions. At the same time, students can learn how to
ID each of the species with key taxonomic features you would use in the field
pointed out by the red arrows.

Keywords to use on search:
– “scientific name of the species”
– Diet
– Feeding habits
– Stomach contents
– Prey
– Trophic position
– Stable Isotopes
– Ecological interactions

Citation format:

Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title
of the article. Title of the Journal,
Volume (Issue), Page Range.
https://doi.org/xxxxxx
Please write your name at the bottom

Questions, recommendations, suggestions:

email Fabio Buitrago – fabiob@bu.edu