A complete reef food web is created. To date, however, the food chain theory has not been scientifically proved. Some studies of the diets of reef fishes, in fact, have indicated that these fishes are foraging on animals found, not on the reef, but on the surrounding sand substrate. The open substrate fish were taken from July through December 1994, while the reef fish were collected from June 1993 through December 1994. The diets of red snapper larger than 3 inches SL were dominated by teleosts, or bony fishes.
Researchers work up red snapper samples for diet, age, and growth studies.
Red snapper between 3 and 6 inches SL were collected from both open and reef habitats. The Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index for the IRIs was calculated for these overlapping size classes. The MDS showed apparent differences between the diets of red snapper in open habitat and those in reef habitats, independent of the size of the snapper. This suggests differential habitat values for red snapper. Thus, this information provides evidence that the food chain theory does function on artificial reefs off coastal Alabama.