Ecology Summary - Gymnothorax undulatus

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Main Ref.	Thollot, P., 1996
Remarks	Inhabits coral reefs (Ref. 58534). A common species on reef flats among rocks, rubble, or debris and also occurs in lagoons and seaward reefs (Also Ref. 9773) to depths of 26 m or more. Cavernicolous (Refs. 8593, 58302). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Nocturnal predator (Also Ref. 9773) that feeds on fishes, octopi, and probably crustaceans. Reported to be an aggressive species and prone to bite (Ref. 11889). May venture into open waters, coming out of crevices and caves to feed on fishes, octopuses and crustaceans (Ref. 9773).

Main Ref.

Thollot, P., 1996

Remarks

Inhabits coral reefs (Ref. 58534). A common species on reef flats among rocks, rubble, or debris and also occurs in lagoons and seaward reefs (Also Ref. 9773) to depths of 26 m or more. Cavernicolous (Refs. 8593, 58302). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Nocturnal predator (Also Ref. 9773) that feeds on fishes, octopi, and probably crustaceans. Reported to be an aggressive species and prone to bite (Ref. 11889). May venture into open waters, coming out of crevices and caves to feed on fishes, octopuses and crustaceans (Ref. 9773).

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 Gymnothorax undulatus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Benthic; Hard Bottom: rocky; rubble;
Substrate Ref.	Al-Abdessalaam, T.Z.S., 1995
Special habitats	Coral Reefs: reef slope/drop-offs; reef flats; lagoons;
Special habitats Ref.	Nguyen, N.T. and V.Q. Nguyen, 2006

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Thollot, P., 1996
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Thollot, P., 1996

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	3.57	0.31	3.66	0.63	Troph of juv./adults from 2 studies.
From individual food items	4.32	0.72			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., 1979

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