Longo, Guilherme OrtigaraOrtiz, Nicolas Moore2023-12-202023-12-202023-12-08ORTIZ, Nicolas Moore. Mineradores dos recifes: influência do tamanho corporal na remoção de carbonato de cálcio recifal pelo budião azul Scarus trispinosus. Orientador: Guilherme Ortigara Longo. 2023. 34 f. Monografia (Graduação em Ciências Biológicas) – Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 2023.https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/56419Bioeroders are organisms that play a vital ecological role in coral reefs, contributing to the formation of a sediment rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) by consuming or eroding calcified organisms and substrates. The main bioeroders on coral reefs are fish from the Labridae:Scarinae group, popularly known as "parrotfish" because they have a beak-shaped mouth apparatus. In Brazil, the species that reaches the largest body size is endemic and the most endangered, Scarus trispinosus, plays a key ecological role as the largest bioeroder of the reefs. Larger individuals (> 400 mm) are considered "excavators" and are able to remove larger amounts of substrate when feeding. This study quantified the amount of calcium carbonate contained in the stomachs of 69 individuals of this species in different sizes (231-590 mm), collected from three reefs with different benthic compositions in Rio Grande do Norte (Urcas, Rio do Fogo and Baía Formosa). From these samples, we aimed to elucidate the influence of body size and locality of origin on the amount of carbonate ingested. The stomach contents were removed and processed to dissolve the calcium carbonate, quantifying it by the difference between the weight of the sample before and after the decalcification process. However, individuals of smaller size (< 400 mm) and from locations with a greater quantity of calcified organisms in the substrate (Rio do Fogo and Urcas) also presented significant quantities in relation to larger individuals from the location with fewer calcified organisms in the substrate (Baía Formosa). This indicates that the availability of calcified organisms as a food resource may also be a determining driver in the amount of calcium carbonate cycled between individuals of different sizes. The results indicate that bioerosion and the contribution to the formation of sediments rich in calcium carbonate occur throughout the life of the greenback parrotfish and that the species may be selective in places with a lower abundance of calcified organisms, thus highlighting its ecological importance.Attribution 3.0 Brazilhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/Scarus trispinosusBioerosãoRio Grande do NorteCarbonato de cálcioRecife de coralScarus trispinosusBioerosionRio Grande do NorteCalcium carbonateCoral reefbachelorThesisCNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::ECOLOGIA::ECOLOGIA APLICADACNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::ZOOLOGIA::ZOOLOGIA APLICADA