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Loggerhead sea turtle at a cleaning station

BEHAVIOR, Bony Fishes: Osteichthyes, Cheloniidae, Fishes, Invertebrates, Labridae, Laz Ruda, Lazaro Ruda Wildlife Photographer, MARINE LIFE, Reptiles, Reptilia, Sea Turtles: Testudines, Spanish hogfish: Bodianus rufus, Sponges: Porifera, TheLivingSea.com, West Palm Beach, [LOCATION], bait ball, bait fish, baitball, cleaning, cleaning station, coral, female, horizontal, loggerhead turtle: loggerhead: Carreta carreta, marine, mutualism, ocean, scenic, school, schooling fish, symbiont, symbiosis, symbiotic relationship, underwater, underwater photo, wide angle

A scientific study showed how the abundance of reef fish and the richness in fish species decreased substantially when all cleaner wrasses were removed from the reef for 8.5 years. The lack of cleaning stations also reduced juvenile fish recruitment to the reef by up to 65%. Learn more about the effects of cleaner fish on coral reefs.