Call for Submissions: MASNA Scientific Poster Session
From now until June 24, MASNA will be accepting submissions for the inaugural MASNA Scientific Poster Session, held at the Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA) 2016 in San Diego, California, September 9 – 11,...Banggai Cardinalfish and The Endangered Species Act
Collection of Banggai Cardinals for the aquarium trade is the major driver for their harvest. These fish have a extremely limited geographic range of about 5,500 km² and small wild population size estimated at 2.4 million individuals. These cardinalfish are composed of pockets of individual populations concentrated around the shallows small and large islands within the Banggai Archipelago. A small population also occurs off Central Sulawesi, within Luwuk harbor. One additional population has become established in the Lembeh Strait (North Sulawesi), 400 km north of the natural area of the species distribution. They live in very shallow water, and are plodding swimmers that are easily herded out of protective cover. This combination of characteristics, coupled with high demand as a desirable ornamental species, makes them vulnerable to overharvest. DueReef Life Support Systems WavePuck
Daniel Nguyen and the guys at Reef Life Support Systems (RLSS) have been working on an exciting new wave maker device known as the WavePuck. Slightly smaller than a hockey puck, this is the 1st public viewing of the 3D printed prototype. I first had a sneak peak at the device this past September at MACNA in Washington, DC but until now I had to keep this information under lockdown until now. Daniel, the owner of RLSS in Canada, has developed a low profile magnetic pivotal wavemaker. At a nominal 1.5″ thick x 3″ footprint, it is now the lowest profile wavemaker device of its kind. Today RLSS announced plans to produce 4 models of the Wave Puck with the 1st model generating a maximum flow ratePalytoxin!
Palythoa grandisMany of us are inspired to keep marine life for its exotic beauty or interesting behavior. But if we’re being perfectly honest, we have to admit there’s also something intriguing about keeping—and displaying to our friends and family—marine organisms that have dangerous or potentially deadly defense mechanisms, such as venomous spines, potent toxins, or razor-sharp teeth. For those hobbyists who like to flirt with danger, the marine aquarium trade certainly offers its share of prickly and poisonous characters—from venomous fishes to deadly cephalopods to noxious sessile invertebrates. There are even organisms we can buy that offer stunning beauty and potency in equal measure.Among these best-of-both-worlds critters are many of the zoanthids we’re so fond of keeping in our reef systems. These polyps (most of the ones we keep being from the Zoanthus and Palythoa genera) have much to recommend them, being very hardy and often stunningly beautiful. But some of them also contain a potent neurotoxin, called palytoxin, in their tissues and mucus that can make people very sick or even cause death if they’re not handled properly. Of course, blithely mentioning that certain popular zoanthids have the potential to sicken or kill people raises a whole host of questions that demand prompt, thorough answers. Among them: What is the nature of palytoxinReef Threads Podcast #244
Gary and Christine recording “in the wild” at MACNA 2015.
We’re back from Washington DC and it’s time for our MACNA wrap-up show. Fire up your ear buds and hear what we saw and did at the annual marine-aquarium event. Also, make your plans to attend in Sand Diego next September. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and ChristineSponsor: Rod’s Food
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