Ecosystems work with each other no matter how far or disconnected they are. Animals and birds have impacts on each other’s lives and deaths. According to a new study, invasive rats on tropical islands are creating winners and losers among tiny underwater animals near the bottom of the food chain that inhabit surrounding coral reefs. Now, scientists are saying the resultant changes can rewire food chains on the reefs.Tiny fish and invertebrates that live at the bottom of the sea on coral reefs are known collectively as ‘cryptofauna’. These creatures are often overlooked and little studied, but they play a vital ecological role and represent a cornerstone of energy transfer on coral reefs.Led by researchers at Lancaster University and the University of Texas, a team of marine scientists studying these tiny critters on reefs around remote islands in the Indian Ocean have discovered that their populations are much different around islands infested by invasive rats compared to reefs around islands without rats.
