Ecology Summary - Aliger gigas

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Ecology of Aliger gigas

Main Ref.	Leal, J.H., 2003
Remarks	This species is found intertidal and offshore, on coral reefs, particularly on algae, coral sand, and seagrass habitats (Refs. 355, 83934). Adults prefer sandy algal flats; also found on gravel, coral rubble, smooth hard coral and beach rock bottoms. Rarely on soft bottoms of mud and/or silt. Benthic grazer. Feeds on diatoms, seagrass detritus, and various algae and epiphytes. Nocturnal (Refs. 105087, 127891).

Main Ref.

Leal, J.H., 2003

Remarks

This species is found intertidal and offshore, on coral reefs, particularly on algae, coral sand, and seagrass habitats (Refs. 355, 83934). Adults prefer sandy algal flats; also found on gravel, coral rubble, smooth hard coral and beach rock bottoms. Rarely on soft bottoms of mud and/or silt. Benthic grazer. Feeds on diatoms, seagrass detritus, and various algae and epiphytes. Nocturnal (Refs. 105087, 127891).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Aliger gigas may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Benthic: mobile; Soft Bottom: sand; Hard Bottom: rocky;
Substrate Ref.	Rodríguez-Sevilla, L., R. Vargas and J. Cortés, 2009
Special habitats	Beds: algae/seaweed; sea grass; Coral Reefs;
Special habitats Ref.	Rodríguez-Sevilla, L., R. Vargas and J. Cortés, 2009

Associations

Ref.	Meijer zu Schlochtern, M., 2014
Associations	symbiosis; commensalism;
Associated with	Astrapogon stellatus; Porcellana sayana; Crepidula spp.;
Association remarks	Name cited in literature is Apogon stellatus. Other symbionts include a variety of algae, sponges, hydroids, and bryozoans (Ref. 127891).
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	mainly plants/detritus (troph. 2-2.19)
Feeding type Ref.	Prent, P., 2013
Feeding habit	browsing on substrate
Feeding habit Ref.	Prent, P., 2013

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	2.19	0.14			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

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