SYDNEY -- Sharks play a key role in regulating the health of a coral reef by eliminating predators that prey on the small fish that keep the coral healthy, according to an Australian study released Monday. Higher numbers of sharks off the country's remote northwest coast — versus the northeast, where the Great Barrier Reef is — suggest that "sharks play a key role in regulating the health of coral reefs," the University of Western Australia said in a statement. Researchers from the university traveled from Cairns to Broome over four months to study the relationship between sharks and reefs. Sharks keep under control the mid-sized predators that are their prey or competitors, allowing small reef fish, the real caretakers of corals, to thrive, Meeuwig said. "We need to understand the role that sharks ... play in maintaining healthy ecosystem," she said.

Source: The China Post July 24, 2017 05:15 UTC