Reef Ramblings

January 11th 2013

Harking back to recent coverage of the public aquarium ‘Big Fish Campaign’ in UltraMarine and on Reef Ramblings, here is a good example of the potential problems caused by fish that grow to a size too large for the average aquarium.

Back in late December spear fisherman, Greg Caterino, caught what was initially a mystery species of fish, off North Key Largo, Florida.

Greg Caterino with the humpback grouper that he speared off North Key Largo.
Image: Wayne Grammes / KeysNet.com

This image helps put into perspective the potential size of this species.

On closer examination the 6.8 kilo (15 pound), 0.7 metre (27 inch) long fish was identified as a specimen of Chromileptes altivelis. Common names for this fish include: Humpback Grouper, Panther Grouper, and in Australia the Barramundi Cod.

Juveniles of this species are often found in the UK aquarium trade sold under the name Panther Grouper. As juveniles, at length of around 10 cms, these fish are attractive to inexperienced aquarists owing to their striking colouration of black polka dots on a white background.  Unfortunately they don’t retain their distinctive appearance and, as they grow, so does their appetite with any tank mate that can fit into their mouth becoming a potential meal.

Image: Tim Hayes

Example of a ‘cute’ juvenile Panther Grouper.

Although not directly relevant to the UK because of our cooler climate, in addition to the ‘Big Fish’ issue, there is the secondary issue of invasive species to consider. This is an Indo-Pacific species, almost certainly released into the sea by an aquarist whose tank it had outgrown. According to Lad Akins, Project Director for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation,  “This is not the first time these have been sighted in Florida, there have been five or six reported as far back as the 1980s, but all from different parts of the state.”

With one Indo-Pacific species, the Lionfish, Pterois volitans, well on the way to being established in the region, the fear in this area of the US is of another foreign invader joining it to the detriment of the local marine ecosystem.

Click here to learn more about the the Big Fish Campaign.

Tim Hayes

Reef Ramblings

©2013

California Academy of Sciences 2012 new species list

Every year the California Academy of Sciences issues a press release detailing species newly described to science by academy scientists during the past 12 months.  The 2012 list comprises of 137 species new to science including 83 arthropods, 41 fishes, seven plants, four sea slugs, one reptile, and one amphibian; described by more than a dozen Academy scientists along with several dozen international collaborators.

“The ongoing discovery of new species is an important function of systematics-based institutions like the California Academy of Sciences,” said Dr. Terry Gosliner, Dean of Science and Research Collections at the Academy. “During these times, when we are facing the planet’s sixth mass extinction, species may be disappearing before we have a chance to find and describe them. How can we know what to protect, if we don’t know that it exists in the first place?”

Marine Highlights

Two of the marine highlights of the year were:

• A new species of deepwater Catshark from the Galapagos, the Jaguar Catshark, Bythaelurus giddingsi, collected via submersible from depths in the region of 428 –562 metres. The authors chose the common name partly because of its spotted pattern, and partly because it bears a striking resemblance to the fictional “Jaguar Shark” seen cruising the dark depths in the Wes Anderson film, ‘The Life Aquatic’.

Bythaelurus giddingsi – Jaguar Catshark.
Image: California Academy of Sciences

• The publication in June of, ‘Reef Fishes of the East Indies’, a three volume magnum opus, several decades in the making. Its geographic coverage spans the South China Sea, Andaman Sea, and the Coral Triangle—the region between the Philippines, Borneo, and New Guinea that is regarded as a global centre of biodiversity. Co-authored by Academy research associate Mark Erdmann, this three-volume book set provides descriptions and colour photographs of more than 2,500 reef fishes, including 25 new species.

Marine species

I’ve broken down the 41 species of fishes into their family groupings, 17 in all, and included size where possible, in order to make it easier to appreciate these new discoveries from a reef aquarium perspective.

Many of these new species seem to be small, cryptic, or of limited distribution, perhaps being found only at a single location or at a greater depth – all factors in their being previously undescribed – a reflection on the difficulty of fully exploring the underwater world. It’s likely that there are many more similar species awaiting discovery.

Snake Eels

Myrichthys paleracio, a new species of snake-eel from the Philippines.
Image: California Academy of Sciences

Anthias

A beautiful fairy basslet known only from a single deep reef off the southern Indonesian island of Lembata.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Coral Breams

A small coral bream with a blazing gold stripe known only from the Komodo islands in Indonesia.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Sandperches

A strikingly coloured, red spotted sand perch known only from southern Indonesia (Sumatra to Komodo) and west to the Andaman islands of India; in shallow depths of 2-8m.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Sand-divers

A deep reef species (below 60m depth) discovered in Cendrawasih Bay in West Papua; the name refers to the unusually long pelvic fins which this fish uses to rest on the bottom in tripod-like fashion.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Clingfishes

Aspasmichthys alorensis – a tiny clingfish known only from the Alor Strait in SE Indonesia – an area renowned for ferocious currents.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Lepidichthys akiko – a beautiful candy-striped clingfish known only from deep reefs of Cendrawasih Bay in West Papua.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Dragonets

Synchiropus tudorjonesi – Tudor Jones’ dragonet (male and female).
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Gobies

As might be expected the most numerous of the new species are Gobies:

Acentrogobius cendrawasih – known only from a single silty gully off the Wandammen Peninsula in Cendrawasih Bay; unusual in that it lives at about 30m depth, other members of this genus are usually found above 10m.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Eviota atriventris Photo by J. E. Randall.

Eviota fallax
Image Credit: Gerald Allen

Grallenia baliensis – a miniscule sand goby found on the slopes of NE Bali during a 2011 survey.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Priolepis nocturna – a highly cryptic and rarely seen reef goby.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Tomiyamichthys gomezi – A beautiful shrimp goby that lives commensally with snapping shrimp.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

Tryssogobius sarah – A delicate fairy goby with iridescent blue eyes known from deep (40-70m) reefs around Raja Ampat.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

 Dartfishes

Ptereleotris rubristigma – a beautiful blue dart fish named for the prominent red spot on the gill cover; widespread throughout the East Indies region and found on soft bottoms exposed to currents.
Image Credit: Gerald Allen, Conservation International

List of Fishes

TL – Total length: term used by taxonomists to describe the length of a fish from its most forward part, e.g. its snout, to its rearmost part, e.g. the tip of the tail.

SL – Standard length: term used by taxonomists to describe the length of a fish from its most forward part, e.g. its snout, to the base of the tail. This measurement is used because long-preserved fish often lose the tips of the caudal fin rays through breakage after the desiccation effect of alcohol.

List of Sea Slugs

Notobryon thompsoni, a nudibranch found in South Africa.
Image: California Academy of Sciences

Four species of nudibranchs, in two families, were included in this year’s new species list. One species, Melibe coralophilia, is described as being found in association with two species of coral, the Blue Coral, Heliopora coerulea, and Porites species, although the nature of the association is currently unknown.

References

For references, see, ‘CalAcademy 2012 references‘

Adapted from materials provided by the California Academy of Sciences.

From my favourite new resource, Fishes of the East Indies, by Allen GR and Erdmann MV

Additional materials courtesy of FishBase

Tim Hayes

Reef Ramblings

©2012

Check out this amazing photograph of a diver being dwarfed by a vast school of Jacks.

The image was taken by scientist Octavio Aburto in the Cabo Pulmo National Park, a marine reserve in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, north of Cabo San Lucas on the tip of Baja California. Cabo Pulmo is a conservation success story that demonstrates what a no-take marine park can achieve.

The photo shows the schooling Jacks exhibiting courtship behaviour has been submitted to the National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 and was featured on Mission Blue, a website created to raise awareness of ocean issues, headed up by oceanographer Sylvia Earle.

Mission Blue

Mission Blue is a global initiative formed in response to Sylvia Earle’s 2009 TED Prize wish where Dr. Earle urged people “to use all means at your disposal – films, expeditions, the web, new submarines – to create a campaign to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas; Hope Spots large enough to save and restore the blue heart of the planet.”

Decades of over fishing, pollution, climate change, acidification and other anthopogenic pressures threaten the health of the ocean and, in turn, the future of humankind. Presently, less than 1 percent of the ocean is fully protected nationally and internationally.

Mission Blue, a product of the non-profit Sylvia Earle Alliance (SEAlliance) and TED, has nearly fifty partners, organisations from around the world, dedicated to ocean conservation, research, exploration, communication, and more. Goals include increasing marine protected areas by 20 percent by 2020, fishery reform, pollution reduction, and to gain support for the ocean through educating the general public about the threats it faces.

Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park

In 2011 a study by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography described Cabo Pulmo as the “most robust marine reserve in the world”, with an unparalleled 463 percent increase in fish biomass observed since its creation as a no-take marine park

In the 1990s the coral reefs of Cabo Pulmo were despoiled and the ecosystem depleted after decades of destructive over fishing.  When the locals realised what had caused the damage they petitioned the government to make the area a national park, and in 1995 a 17,560-acre strip of marine and coastal habitat was established as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Fishing was banned within the park and the local communities took stewardship of the marine area, shifting their economy away from destructive fishing practices.

In 2005, UNESCO named Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park a World Heritage Site and it became a Ramsar Wetlands Site of International Importance in 2008.

To learn more about Cabo Pulmo see. ‘Photo of the Day: Rush Hour on the Reef’

Tim Hayes

Reef Ramblings

20 December 2012

The recent appointment of Robert Wintner to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Board of Directors heralds a new threat to the reef aquarium industry and hobby.

Wintner, also known as ‘Snorkel Bob’, has been an outspoken opponent of the collection of fishes for the aquarium trade in Hawaii, campaigning for an outright ban on the collection and exportation of Hawaiian reef fishes. His description of the reef aquarium hobby is full of negative hyperbole and questionable facts, painting an over-the-top picture of the hobby as being tremendously destructive of reef life.

With his appointment to the board of Sea Shepherd he is extending his opposition to the reef aquarium trade to one of worldwide elimination.

Sea Shepherd

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, initially named “Earth Force Society”, was formed in 1977, after its founder, Paul Watson, was expelled from the board of Greenpeace over disagreements about his direct action activism.

Over the years Sea Shepherd has engaged in various campaigns opposing Drift-netting, Seal hunting, Whaling, Shark-finning, and Dolphin hunting, these have often included direct action which has led to some critics describing their actions as piracy or terrorism.

For more about the organisation see: http://www.seashepherd.org/

See also the Wikepedia entry for Sea Shepherd, which details its history along with a record of the organisation’s various campaigns.

Sea Shepherd’s Position on the Aquarium Trade

Since his appointment Wintner has issued a statement on Sea Shepherd’s position on the aquarium trade, entitled, “Wildlife Species are a Public Trust, Not Disposable Trinkets”

“The aquarium trade serves a dark hobby, confining coral reef wildlife and destroying reefs around the world. Stripping reefs for an amusement industry is theoretically no different than capturing cetaceans for commercial shows. 98% of aquarium fish are wild caught. Many people may not reflect on the colorful fish in glass tanks used as furnishings for offices, bistros, waiting rooms, or homes—and some people may assume those fish are bred in captivity. The fact is that 2% of those fish are captive-bred and 98% are taken from the wild. This devastating practice results in severe mortality rates from the point of capture through handling, shipping, and acclimation. Coral damage is well documented and often witnessed with viewers observing anchors, chains, and nets in the coral and collectors breaking coral in pursuit of a few more bucks.

The aquarium trade is covered in verbiage, but trafficking in reef wildlife for the pet trade is not sustainable or “captive-bred whenever possible.” 40 million reef fish and invertebrates supply 1.5 million aquariums around the world, annually. Wildlife species are a public trust, not disposable trinkets. Marine reef systems are intricately balanced, with each species performing a role in reef maintenance and balance. Multiband Butterflyfish do not leave their reef by choice. Once stripped of Multiband Butterflies, the species is lost to that reef indefinitely. The Hawaiian cleaner wrasse is a charismatic, vital species endemic to Hawaii. They set up cleaning stations where many species gather for grooming in a social setting. Hawaiian cleaner wrasses die in thirty days of captivity without 30-40 other fish to clean, yet they ship out daily for retail sale. Many reefs in Hawaii are now vulnerable to parasite loading. Yellow tangs are herbivores, grazing on algae dawn to dusk to prevent reef suffocation, yet they ship out by the millions to enhance aquarium trade profits. Hawaii’s Director of Natural Resources should not be an aquarium collector. Nor should reef species be sacrificed to support any amusement industry, including sales of tanks, stands, lights, tickets, or decorative trinkets. Under pressure worldwide from acidification, climate change, and associated events—like crown of thorns starfish invasions triggered by warmer water—coral reef systems must maintain optimal immune systems with a full balance of species.The staggering death rate of captive reef wildlife occurs mostly in the 30-day span between capture and chemical error in a home aquarium. Many of these species live for decades in the wild, providing reef function and reef balance.

Hawaii is the third largest supplier of reef fish in the U.S. aquarium trade, accounting for empty reefs and vanishing reef species. Florida takes millions of reef individuals annually, even as society scapegoats the invasive lionfish, a voracious predator introduced by the aquarium trade to east coast and Caribbean reefs. Lionfish did not reach the Atlantic on their own.

Aquarium trade trafficking leaves reefs unbalanced, degraded, and depleted. No factor in reef decline can absolve any other factor- acidification, runoff, climate change, or any other negative impact on reef health cannot justify aquarium extraction. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society seeks to stop global trafficking in live fish for hobby or display markets.”

What should the reef aquarium hobby do in response?

The reef aquarium hobby and industry needs to demonstrate that they are not wantonly destroying reef animals. Fishes and corals can, and do, live out their natural lifespan, in reef aquaria, free of the danger of predation. In the case of corals this can be a lifespan stretching into decades during which time many additional colonies may be created through asexual reproduction, which can in turn, be distributed back into the trade, reducing the quantities harvested from the wild.

The aquarium industry is an important source of income for some of the least well off peoples in the world who live in the supply countries. Increasingly corals are being maricultured for the trade in the supply countries, reducing the impact on the wild.

Indeed, as I try and point out whenever I can, the reef aquarium hobby has an important role in educating people about the dangers of climate change. Most people are never going to visit a tropical reef; by bringing a small slice of the reef into the home we can show non hobbyists the marvellous animals that we are in danger of losing to higher water temperature and acidification, helping to bring awareness of the realities of mankind’s affect on the planet

The aquarium hobby is not perfect but neither is it anywhere near as dark as Sea Shepherd would like to make out, if aquarium losses where anywhere near as high as suggested the hobby would have shut down long ago.  Doubtless we can improve the lives of the fishes, coral, and other invertebrates that are central to the hobby and prevent any unnecessary losses through education.

Organisations such as SAIA, the Sustainable Aquarium Industry Association, exist to help educate both the hobby and the trade by offering information on ‘Best Practises’ to ensure high standards of husbandry.

Do your bit for the hobby, show off your reef aquarium to as many non-hobbyists as possible, research potential new acquisitions before purchase, learn as much as possible about the reef animals that you keep to ensure their long-term survival, and support SAIA in its efforts to educate and inform.

Additional references:

Wintner’s statement on Sea Shepherd’s position on the aquarium trade.

Sea Shepard board of directors.

Tim Hayes

Reef Ramblings

©2012

Coral Gobies are those Goby species that live in association with stony corals, often branching Acropora species, in a relationship that up until now has been described as commensal.

New research from the Georgia Institute of Technology reveals that the relationship between coral gobies and their coral hosts is more complex than previously believed. Coral gobies are small fishes, around 2.5 centimetres long, that spend their entire life living amongst the branches and crevices of their coral host, protected from predators.

This paper, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, ‘Corals Chemically Cue Mutualistic Fishes to Remove Competing Seaweeds’, seems to demonstrate that the relationship between the fish and the coral is a mutualistic one, benefiting both parties. The researchers found evidence that coral gobies respond to chemical signals from the coral, generated when the coral was under threat from toxic algae, stimulating the fish to remove the invasive seaweed.

The study revolved around Acropora nasuta, as with other Acroporids, an important reef building coral, and 2 species of coral goby, Gobiodon histrio – a popular aquarium species, and Paragobiodon echinocephalus. G. histrio was shown to consume the invasive seaweed whilst P. echinocephalus removed it.

Gobiodon histrio

Coral-dwelling gobies in the genus Gobiodon posses toxic skin secretions believed to act as a chemical defence against predation by larger fishes, this study also showed that the gobies eating the toxic seaweed increased the toxicity of their skin secretions.

Commensalism versus Mutualism

Commensalism is defined as a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits without affecting the other. In view of this new research it would seem that this relationship should be redefined as one of mutualism, a relationship in which both organisms benefit. Given that this relationship has been described for two species of coral goby it seem likely that most, if not all, of the small fishes in this group are engaged in a mutualistic relationship with their coral hosts and hence should be provided with a suitable coral species in captivity.

Which Coral Host?

FishBase lists 20 species under Gobiodon ranging from 2.1 to 6.6 cms total length (TL) and 5 species under Paragobiodon ranging from 3.0 to 3.5 cms TL. I’ve done a quick cross reference between information from FishBase and the book Reef Fishes of the East Indies by Gerald Allen and Mark Erdmann, and come up with a list showing which fish species coexist with which coral.

(GA) source = Reef Fishes of the East Indies

In the Reef Aquarium

In light of the research revealing coral gobies to be in a mutualistic relationship with their coral host I would propose that, from an aquarium point of view, these coral goby species should be kept with a branching coral host to replicate their natural association. Although it would be next to impossible to define the exact species required for each individual fish imported, the provision of something close to their natural habitat may go a long way to reducing stress levels and improving their quality of life in captivity.

In many ways coral gobies are the perfect fish for the reef aquarium. They have little requirement for swimming room so their small size and sedentary lifestyle puts little load on the filtration system. Fed appropriate foods, these small fishes should be able live in captivity in a manner that mirrors their natural existence, noticing little difference from their life in the wild.

It is interesting to reflect that for very small fish, coral gobies can have an unusually long lifespan, living up to ten years in captivity. By contrast, the slightly smaller gobies in genus Trimma may have a lifespan measured in weeks.

See also, ‘An Introduction to Gobies for the Nano Reef: Genus Gobiodon and Paragobiodon – Coral or Clown Gobies.‘

Tim Hayes

Reef Ramblings

©2012

3rd September 2012

Over the last few days, starting Thursday 30^th August, we’ve been experiencing what appears to be a run of daily ostracod spawning events. I say ‘appears to be’, as I’ve been unable to find much in the way of details about marine Ostracod reproduction but have found reference to eggs hatching into nauplius larvae which already have a hard shell (Barnes). Otherwise descriptions of ostracod reproduction seems to be vague, describing eggs as being laid in the water as plankton or being attached to vegetation or to the substrate, with some species brooding the eggs inside the parent’s shell. With thousands of species of ostracod it makes identification difficult for anyone other than an ostracod specialist.

Each morning we’ve encountered large numbers of ostracods floating on the surface of a single tank, part of a 1000+ litre, 12-tank critter system. Roughly one millimetre in length and half a millimetre in depth they are forming what I’d describe as an egg raft, with up to a couple of hundred individuals clumping together.

Ostracod ‘Egg Raft’
Midland Reefs ©2012

To be more precise, I should say that they are floating on the surface of the water. This is odd as most small organisms in this size range often have difficulty at the water surface owing to surface tension, a boundary that they are unable to cross, either water to air or air to water. Without intervention small organisms remained trapped by surface tension; localised stirring can breakdown this boundary enabling small organisms to penetrate it and enter the water column.

What is difficult to understand is why these ostracods are on the airside of the water surface as the feed to the tank is below the surface and I can see nothing about the layout of the system that would allow them to be just ‘poured’ onto the surface.

In the reef aquarium ostracods are most commonly seen close to the viewing pane moving around on (and in) the top layer of the substrate. Once harvested from the surface of the water of this single productive tank on the critter system, and mixed into the water column, they quickly settle to the substrate exhibiting the commonly observed behaviour as above.

If we can find out how to intentionally harness this form of reproduction it may prove to be useful in mariculture as another natural food for larval fishes or early juveniles.

I’ve been feeding a proportion of each day’s harvest to our resident population of young clownfishes who are eagerly consuming them.

If anyone out there has an explanation for what is occurring or has had any experience of this phenomenon, please get in touch.

To learn more about ostracods, see Reef Ramblings ‘Zooplankton in the Reef Aquarium – Ostracods’

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Announcing two new foods for the discerning reefkeeper.

Midland Reefs has just added two new foods to its Reef Scientific range, extending the available range of copepods, RS Frozen Pod-Mix fish & corals and RS Frozen Pod-Mix corals & fish

• RS Frozen Pod-Mix fish & corals, a 700 micron sized copepod mix suitable for most reef fishes and for LPS corals. Roughly equivalent in size to CyclopEeze.

• RS Frozen Pod-Mix corals & fish, a copepod mix containing ‘pods sized from 500 – 700 microns, suitable for feeding finicky corals such as Sea Fans and Gorgonians, Goniopora, and SPS corals, along with smaller reef fishes such as Dragonets or Mandarinfishes. Especially useful for use with fish breeding projects to feed early post larval juveniles, roughly equivalent in size to 2 day old enriched artemia.

A Natural Diet.

The Reef Scientific range of frozen copepods is the nearest thing currently available to the natural diet of the majority of the fishes in the reefkeeping hobby.

Fishes in the hobby tend to be smaller species, say less than 20 cms adult size, with diets mainly comprising copepods along with other small prey items such as fish eggs, fish larva, invertebrate larvae, faeces, etc.

To learn more about copepods and their role in the food chain see: Copepods for the Reef Aquarium. Part 1.

Reef Scientific frozen Calanoid Copepods – The highest quality frozen natural marine zooplankton available anywhere!

High Nutritional Value – High in protein, in omega3, Phospholipids, DHA & EPA, and Astaxanthin.

This range of marine zooplankton is rich in phospholipids, essential fatty acids and proteins along with the caratanoid Astaxanthin. The fatty acid, DHA, is only produced in marine algae and is accumulated in zooplankton as they graze in a process of natural enrichment.

Non-polluting! 100% clean. Needs no pre-rinsing before use. The product is pasteurized for bio-security and sealed, using natural components from crustaceans, minimizing nutrient leakage in the reef aquarium. Can be thawed and kept in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.

Suitable for all saltwater and freshwater fish, corals, and crustaceans.

A number of different species are present in each sizing, providing a rich variety of different nutritional profiles; species include: Temora longicornis, Acartia clausi and Centropages hamatus, Pseudocalanus spp., Paracalanus spp., Microcalanus spp. and early copepodites of C. finmarchicus

Breeding

The smaller-size food particles have a documented positive effect on fish and crustacean larvae.

In co-feeding experiments, clownfish have shown 100% higher growth compared to a diet solely with enriched rotifers and artemia. Survival has increased by 50%.

Dr. Ike Olivotto at the university of Ancona, Italy, has published a paper showing this food to be superior to live feeds such as rotifers and artemia. His research involved comparing two groups of clownfish larvae, one group fed a standard rotifer/Artemia nauplii, diet, the other fed a combination of rotifers/copepod nauplii and Artemia nauplii/copepodites-copepods.

His research showed 100% higher weight along with 30% length increase in clownfishes 10 days post hatching, compared to fish given a diet consisting of enriched rotifers and Artemia. 15 days post hatching, larvae fed with the copepod enhanced diet had a 62% survival rate compared to larvae fed a conventional rotifer/Artemia nauplii diet with a 41% survival rate.

We have used these foods to great success, here at Midland Reefs, raising healthy, well-pigmented, clownfishes, on a diet consisting of rotifers and copepods, whilst completely excluding artemia.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Reef Fishes of the East Indies is a 3-volume set of books written and compiled by Gerald R Allen & Mark V. Erdmann.

Weighing in at just over 6.5 kg, Reef Fishes of the East Indies represents a mammoth undertaking. Comprising three hardbound volumes, packed together in a slipcase (10 cms in width!), this fantastic work covers the fishes of the ‘Coral Triangle’ in 1292 pages and 3,600 high quality colour photographs, many never before seen in print.

Embracing an area extending from the Andaman Sea to the Solomon Islands this is the only reference work to cover every known reef fish, making it the most comprehensive treatment of the region in a century. The East Indies encompasses a vast array of marine habitats and an unsurpassed marine biological diversity. Home to approximately 2,600 species of reef fishes occurring on coral reefs and nearby habitats the ‘Coral Triangle’ forms the basis of the reef aquarium hobby. The reef and related marine ecosystems of the region are the most bio diverse and economically valuable on the planet whilst, at the same time, amongst the most at risk with over 80% of its coral reefs being considered endangered.

The text provides up to date information on the classification, habitat, and distributional range of each species as well as an overall synopsis for each of the 120 families covered. Volume one includes descriptions of the regions that make up the East Indies along with a discussion of the zoogeography i.e. the geographic distribution of the species of the area. All useful information for the reef keeper aiming to put together a biotope aquarium.

Many of the featured species have not been previously recorded from the region, nor have their photographs appeared in print. Reef Fishes of the East Indies features the 2,631 known reef fishes of the ‘Coral Triangle’, including 25 species new to science.

To see samples of some of the photography, go to the Guardian, environment section.

Reef Fishes of the East Indies is an essential reference for advanced reef keepers, professional aquarists, biologists, naturalists, and scuba divers.   The book has been written to engender an appreciation of the region’s amazing biodiversity and the urgent need to conserve it for the benefit of future generations.

The book represents a milestone in the prolific careers of two dedicated marine biologists, Dr. Gerald R. Allen and Dr. Mark V. Erdmann, who have spent a combined total in excess of 60 years exploring and describing the fishes in the ‘heart’ of marine fish biodiversity.

Gerald R. Allen served as Senior Curator of Fishes at the Western Australian Museum in Perth and is an international authority on the classification of coral reef fishes. Since leaving the Museum in 1997, he has worked as a private consultant, primarily involved with coral reef fish surveys in Southeast Asia for Conservation International.

Mark V. Erdmann is senior advisor for Conservation International–Indonesia’s marine program, with a primary focus on managing CI’s marine conservation initiatives in the Bird’s Head Seascape in West Papua.

Published by Conservation International.

Available to special order from Midland Reefs (delivery 3 – 5 days). Price for the three-volume set is £ 204.99 including post and packing

For more about Gerald Allen, see Alert Diver Online, ‘A Magnum Opus of Tropical Reefs’

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

To learn all the latest on how climate change is affecting coral reefs take a look at the ‘Marine Climate Change, Impacts & Adaptation Report Card, Australia 2012’

The 2012 Report Card shows how climate change is affecting Australia’s oceans and marine ecosystems. Changes since the 2009 Report Card include evidence of a southward movement of tropical fish and plankton species in southeast Australia, a decline in the abundance of temperate species, and the first signs of the effect of ocean acidification on marine molluscs.

This report has been compiled by more than 80 of Australia’s leading marine scientists from 34 universities and research organisations. It is a comprehensive document covering marine climate and marine biodiversity, broken down into 19 sections as below:

Marine Climate

• Temperature
• Ocean Acidification
• Sea Level
• El Nino-Southern Oscillation
• East Australian Current
• Leeuwin Current

Marine Biodiversity

• Tidal Wetlands
• Seagrass
• Marine Mammals
• Microbes
• Macroalgae
• Phytoplankton
• Zooplankton
• Coral Reefs
• Tropical Fish
• Temperate Fish
• Pelagic Fish
• Marine Reptiles
• Seabirds

Each section contains information on what is happening and what may happen in the future, and describes the actions underway to prepare and adapt to climate change.

You can either download the entire document as a PDF or browse each subject online.

It looks like at least a couple of week’s reading, once I’ve had the chance to digest the subjects relevant to reefkeeping and the future of the reefs I hope to come back with a few observations on possible implications for the hobby.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

11/7/12

One of today’s sessions at ICRS 2012 was of particular interest to reefkeepers; entitled Reefonomics, this session looked at the trade in live fish covering both the growing demand for live reef fish for the restaurants of China and at the trade in fish and corals for the ornamental sector, the reef aquarium industry.

Dr Liz Wood of the UK’s Marine Conservation Society gave the presentation that concentrated on the aquarium industry, focusing on the issues of biological sustainability along with those of equity and fair trade.

Photo: E. Wood

Biological sustainability

The issues here include

• The importance of monitoring and managing aquarium fisheries to ensure sustainability.
• Although there is currently no evidence of any species collected for the marine ornamental trade being at risk of global extinction, there is evidence of local depletions. Intensity of collection, the population size and the biological characteristics of the species concerned.
• Over-harvesting of target species may have ‘trickle-down’ effects on reef ecology and needs monitoring
• The continuing use of cyanide in the capture of aquarium fish is still a significant problem. This is a toxic chemical that indiscriminately kills other reef organisms, including corals, and can cause long-term damage to target fish, causing later mortalities.
• Post-harvest mortalities i.e. significant losses occurring due to stress, poor handling, and disease, especially in areas where journey times are long.

Equity and fair trade issues

The aquarium market is considered to be low volume but high value, with the potential to support livelihoods and provide economic stability for low-income coastal communities, but in areas such as Indonesia and the Philippines where middlemen are involved the prices paid to fishers are very low. (For more on the subject of low prices paid to fishers, see: The Fisherman & his wife – a true story from Serangan, Bali)

Solutions.

The solutions suggested include:

• Limiting fishing effort by regulating and licensing the number of collectors.
• Ensuring that vulnerable species are not over-exploited by establishing quotas.
• Applying ‘zero catch quotas’ to protect rare or vulnerable species.

Photo: E. Wood

Conclusions.

The presentation concluded by suggesting a number of actions that could improve management and conservation of resources:

• Collaboration between management authorities, scientists, and aquarium fishers to investigate resources in collecting areas and produce mutually agreed quotas, especially for vulnerable species.
• Use of fishery logbooks to record species and numbers of individuals caught, collecting areas, and time spent collecting.
• Regulation of collecting effort by licensing and restricting the number of collectors.
• Designation of no-take areas to help conserve stocks and to act as control sites to compare with areas where collecting occurs.
• Cessation of trade in species that are known to have poor chances of survival until such time as husbandry problems have been solved.
• Concerted efforts to eradicate use of cyanide. There is a newly developed cyanide test that may prove to be a significant help.
• Introduction of mandatory minimum standards of handling and welfare and appropriate training and inspection schemes at all stages.
• Development of mariculture in countries of origin to relieve pressure on wild stocks.
• Certification to help promote sustainable fisheries and good practice.

Abridged and adapted from Fact Sheet for Marine Aquarium fisheries and trade by Elizabeth Wood. To see the full sheet click here.

Editorial comment.

There is nothing in this presentation that I take issue with, indeed I find myself in full agreement with the content and would perhaps go a little further in wanting to introduce mandatory minimum standards of handling and welfare along with appropriate training and inspection schemes for retailers in the importing countries.

A brief comment on the point about cessation of trade in species that are ‘known to have poor chances of survival, until such time as husbandry problems have been solved’. I would favour a restriction on export, not a ban, otherwise advanced aquarists will not have the opportunity to develop the husbandry protocols required for the successful maintenance of these species.

I welcome comments regarding the issues covered here.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012