by AquaNerd | Jan 27, 2014 | Conservation, Science
Captive-bred yellow tangs (Zebrasoma flavescens) may be coming to an aquarium near you. That’s the reality thanks to the efforts of the Oceanic Institute of Hawai‘i Pacific University (OI-PHU), who announced Friday that their groundbreaking research to breed yellow tangs has gotten a much needed infusion of cash…$75,000 to be exact. The funding comes from multiple sources, with the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority making up the bulk of that with their $35,000 donation. The Sea World/Busch Gardens Conservation Fund contributed $8,000 and the Oceanic Institute provided $32,000 worth of in-kind support. It is said that the funding will support a year long project which has the goal to bring the current level of yellow tang breeding up to the point that the research team can have its first ever captive rearing of the species. As part of the announcement, the OI-HPU also highlighted the fact that research scientist Chatham K. Callan, Ph.D., has lead the way with yellow tang breakthroughs when he discovered “breeding techniques that allow them to culture viable eggs in significant quantities and successfully rear the resulting larvae through their critical first few weeks of life.” As part of this joyous announcement, Callan will be speaking to the Science Pub-Hawai‘i tomorrow, January 27th. If you would like to read more about this ambitious work, be sure to visit: “OI-HPU yellow tang research gets boost from multiple funders” Story via MARSHReef by AquaNerd | Dec 27, 2013 | Photography, Science, Technology, Travel
Have you ever wanted to visit a public aquarium but just haven’t had the time to make the trip? Alternatively, do you frequent these aquariums and just can’t seem to get enough? Well, if you fall into either of those two categories, then you’re in a bit of luck. The California Academy of Science has recently put up two live webcams that focus on a couple of different areas of their massive Philippine Lagoon. Both feeds can be accessed via the academy’s website, where you just pick and choose which area you wish to view. With the lagoon view, observers can witness routine shark feedings every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30pm PST. The tank is also fed randomly on other days, so you might catch a feeding if you stick around long enough. The second viewing of the lagoon is called the “Reef View”. Unfortunately, it’s not aimed at a reef, rather it is another area where sharks and rays seem to accumulate. It differs from the lagoon in that it has a rock structure and more ocean life, but it’s not the massive collection of corals that we know are at the academy. by Reef To Rainforest | Nov 22, 2013 | Conservation, Events, Fish, Science
Paracheilinus rennyae, endemic in the waters of Komodo National Park. Image by Mark Erdmann, Conservation International. Although best-known as the home of the world’s largest living lizard, Komodo National Park in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia is also a noteworthy dive destination that attracts biodiversity researchers doing marine species surveys in the Coral Triangle. One of those scientists, Dr. Mark Erdmann of Conservation International, has found and described a gloriously pigmented new species of Flasher Wrasse, Paracheilinus rennyae. The fish, distinguished by its rounded dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, is named in honor of Renny Kurnia Hadiaty from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and in recognition of her scientific contributions to Indonesian fish taxonomy. Erdmann, Conservation International’s (CI) senior adviser to the Indonesian Marine Program, says that Renny’s Flasher Wrasse is endemic to East Nusa Tenggara, the province in southeastern Indonesia where Komodo Island National Park is located. Conservationists are hopeful that such discoveries will help protect such areas from development. Northern tip of Komodo Island, home to a living “dragon” and a diversity of marine life. “East Nusa Tenggara has more endemic species of flasher wrasses, which will hopefully encourage more tourists to come to Indonesia, since they can only see the endemic species here, including the new flasher wrasse,” Erdmann said on Wednesday. According to Erdmann, the first picture of a new, unknown wrasse was taken by a diver in Nusa Tenggara Timor (NTT) in 2010. “When the diver showed us the picture, we assumed it was a new species of flasher wrasse. Scientists from Udayana University [in Bali] later confirmed the species was genetically distinct from other flasher wrasse species,” he said. Following collaboration between scientists from Udayana University, Papua State University in Manokwari, Diponegoro University in Semarang, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Conservation International Indonesia, a description of the new species by Dr. Gerald Allen, Dr. Erdmann, and Ni Luh Astria Yusmalinda was published in the year-end edition of aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology. Popular among reef aquarium keepers and divers alike, flasher wrasses are known for their gaudy mating displays, in which the males flare their fins and “flash” electric-blue colors to attract females and initiate spawning events. Paracheilinus rennyae is genetically distinct from other known flasher wrasses in the Coral Triangle, with its closest relative being Paracheilinus angulatus from East Kalimantan, Brunei, Sabah and the southern Philippines. “The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is increasingly aware of the need to generate more revenue from underwater tourism due to the country’s marine biodiversity, rather than solely depending on fishing,” Erdmann said. “But we haven’t yet calculated the value of these endemic flasher wrasse to NTT’s tourism,” he continued. Sources Jakarta Post Image, Northern tip of Komodo Island: Jon Hanson/Wikipedia/Creative Commons Abstract Gerald R. Allen, Mark V. Erdmann and Ni Luh Astria Yusmalinda: Paracheilinus rennyae, a new species of flasherwrasse (Perciformes: Labridae) from southern Indonesia, aqua, Volume 19, Issue 4 – 25 October 2013, pp. 193-206. The Indo-Pacific labrid fish Paracheilinus rennyae is described from four male specimens, 52.2-60.4 mm SL, collected in 15-21 m depth off southwestern Flores Island in the Lesser Sunda island chain of Indonesia. It is distinguished from most congeners by the lack of filamentous extensions of the dorsal fin rays in males and a rounded caudal fin margin, a combination of features shared only by P. octotaenia (Red Sea). It differs from the Red Sea species in having 13-14 rakers (vs. 16-18) on the first gill arch and several colour pattern differences. Genetic analysis (CO1) indicates it is closely related to P. angulatus from the Philippines and northern Borneo (Brunei, Sabah, and Kalimantan), but the two species exhibit marked differences in the shape of the median fins. by Heidi dM | Oct 15, 2013 | Conservation, Photography, Science, Seahorses
Seahorses are not just beautiful creatures that fascinate young and old; they are flagship species, symbols of the sea grasses, mangroves, coral reefs, estuaries and seaweeds. Their use in traditional medicine, aquarium displays and as curios makes them a valuable... by Reef To Rainforest | Sep 10, 2013 | Invertebrates, Science
By Daniel Knop Web Bonus Content from the September/October 2013 Issue of CORAL Magazine Additional Bonus Brittle Star Articles Page 30 top Brittle stars scurry to the surface. Page 30 bottom Brittle stars’ arms intertwined in a dense network. Page 31 top left The crowded animals compete for the highest spot, and some specimens even climb out of the water. Page 31 bottom Thick white clouds of sperm exit from the genital slits. Page 32 top left This is a typical posture: the oral disc is raised to squeeze the sperm out through the genital slits. Page 32 bottom left Others join in from near the water’s surface. Page 32 right In contrast lighting, the five- or six-armed stars exhibit a white comet tail—reminiscent of a “white wedding.” TEXT Spider-like, they emerged from all cracks and crevices. It looked almost like an alien invasion in a science fiction movie. Countless arms waved through the water, probed the environment, and attached themselves to rocks to pull themselves up. Each individual wanted to be first, to find the best place. The urge of a brittle star to climb—from the rock structure, up the aquarium glass, to the surface—is so powerful that some specimens came out of the water, standing on the bodies of their fellows. With almost blind zeal, half a hundred of these echinoderms assembled, as if following a secret command. However, it was not blind obedience or fear that drove them, but the irrepressible wish to reproduce: a brittle star wedding was imminent! Unlike other invertebrates that mate and exchange their genetic material directly, free spawners must synchronize their germ cell release. Therefore, they need a trigger that sets in motion the complex reproductive process. For these brittle stars, often referred to as Ophiocoma pumila in the hobby, that trigger is a sudden change in the environment—in this case a partial water change. As soon as the fresh sea water had flowed into the aquarium and mixed with the old water, the first arms stretched out from under the rocks. Within moments the aquarium, which had shown no sign of a brittle star before the water change, was teeming with them. These animals normally hide during the day and come out at to scavenge at night, but now they suddenly moved out into the open, despite all the dangers, to comply with their biological directive: reproduction. While most brittle star species are dioecious, some are hermaphroditic. Some free-spawning hermaphroditic species exclusively release sperm, while the oocytes remain in the body and are fertilized by the sperm of other individuals. The larvae of these hermaphroditic breeders remain in the respiratory cavities, or bursae, and mature there. On each side of the armpit on the oral side there are slit-shaped genital openings to the bursae—sac-like invaginations that are usually used for respiration. The animal reduces its volume by contracting the oral disc muscles to eject water and increases its volume by breathing in oxygen-rich water. The bursae also contain the gonads. Here, the sperm mature and are stored in a low-liquid form. During spawning, the gonads empty the sperm into the bursae, which serve as reservoirs. The germ cells are diluted with water, so the amount of sperm that finally emerges through the openings at the bases of the arms appears to be very great. In seemingly endless swells, this white mass exits through the genital slits, drips down, and forms elongated streaks in the open water. In contrast lighting, the five or six-armed stars look like comets with white tails. The sperm gradually mixes with the surrounding water to form a homogeneous, whitish mist that envelops everything. Within about an hour, most of the 50 brittle stars had released sperm. Some had remained near their hiding places in the typical spawning posture, with exposed oral discs. However, most of the small echinoderms had taken the more daring path, climbing up to the water’s surface in order to ensure that their own genes were spread as widely as possible. Some in top form unloaded huge masses into the 16-gallon (60-L) aquarium. The turbidity was significant, but none of the other aquarium animals developed signs of a lack of oxygen or other discomfort. The skimmer continued to work normally and showed no tendency to bubble over. A short time later, the tiny reef had returned to normal and there was no sign of the brittle stars’ “white wedding.”
