page_title: Orange-lined triggerfish
section_title: Ecological role and feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Orange-lined triggerfish / Ecological role and feeding
context_page_description: The Orange-lined triggerfish is a demersal triggerfish. Although Balistapus is a monotypic genus, it is closely related to the genus Balistoides.
context_section_description: The Orange-lined triggerfish is an omnivorous feeder that can, because of its strong and heavy teeth, tackle a variety of benthic prey. Observed food items include cnidarians, molluscs, ctenophores, crustaceans, other fish, algae, and echinoderms. This species in particular, given its broad diet and distribution, is a crucial component in coral reef ecosystems through top-down control and especially through consumption of sea-urchins. The orange-lined triggerfish is a main and dominant predator of the burrowing urchin (Echinometra mathaei) in East African marine parks. Before being protected, the population was overfished, which allowed the burrowing sea urchin population to grow rapidly. In these ecosystems, the burrowing sea urchin affects coral reef health, the presence of other grazers and algae, and erosion. With all three of these influences intertwined, the burrowing sea urchin has the ability to degrade coral reef ecosystems if they are not being controlled by predators, such as the orange-lined triggerfish. When compared to other predators of the burrowing sea urchin in the East African marine parks, the orange-lined triggerfish was found to consume more burrowing sea urchins than others, which exemplifies this species’ influence on coral reef ecosystems.
caption: Orange-lined Triggerfish feeding on a coral reef.
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