Originally Posted by
SoCo KungFu
Yep, overfishing of sharks has lead to numerous cases of predator release on mesopredators in ocean communities. These spikes in mid trophic levels have all sorts of disastrous consequences. Mesopredators begin predating increasingly on herbivorous fish, which results in increased algae. Algae cover kills reefs. Reefs are not only freaking awesome to dive in, but are incredibly economically important to commercial fisheries that rely on the reefs as spawning grounds for their catch.