Reefdwellers

Reefdwellers is a general term describing organisms that spend most of their lives in coral reef habitats. It is not a single taxonomic group; rather it includes a range of life forms—crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, reef fishes, and associated microbes—that occupy crevices and surface structures of reefs.

Reefdwellers are found in warm, sunlit tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, typically from the shallows to depths of a few dozen meters. They rely on reef structure for food, shelter, and reproduction and often show microhabitat preferences among fore-reef crests, slopes, and lagoons.

Many reef-dwellers have adaptations such as cryptic coloration, detritivory, herbivory, or mutualisms with corals and anemones. Some are territorial; others have planktonic larvae that disperse widely. They contribute to reef health through nutrient cycling, grazing, and bioerosion, and various life-history strategies promote resilience to disturbances.

Reproduction strategies vary from direct development to broadcast spawning, with timing linked to temperature, lunar cycles, and habitat conditions. This diversity supports sustained population presence on dynamic reef systems.

Reefdwellers contribute to nutrient cycling, algal control, and habitat structure maintenance; some species bioerode calcium carbonate, influencing reef accretion. Threats such as warming, acidification, pollution, overfishing, and destructive fishing reduce habitat complexity and food resources. Conservation actions include protecting reefs, reducing local stressors, and restoring coral cover.

In fiction and popular media, "Reefdwellers" is sometimes used to describe intelligent or anthropomorphized reef inhabitants, reflecting the ecological importance of reefs.