Fish

Fish larvae
Fish larvae

Research shows reef fish larvae dispersed differently

Coral reef fish start their lives as small, transparent larvae. After they hatch, they join a swirling sea of plankton and frequently get dispersed to different reefs due to ocean currents, waves and the wind.

In this study, the scientists did seven years of surveys focussing on the Clark’s anemonefish, measuring how the dispersal of larvae varied over the years and seasonally. They discovered that the larvae dispersal varied immensely on both these timescales.

Previous studies of shipwrecks in the United Kingdom and the Red Sea have shown that such artificial reefs often create new and different types of habitat than natural reefs.

Fish thrive on WWII shipwrecks

In 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) undertook a closer examination of the wrecks of the German U-boat U-576 and the Nicaraguan freighter SS Bluefields, using glass-domed submersibles. The two historically significant and deep (200m) shipwrecks sank near one another on the continental shelf of North Carolina, USA, during World War II.

Andrew A Shantz places an enclosure over corals on the sea floor at Florida Keys.

Selective fishing of larger parrotfish lets algae flourish

Scientists at Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered that when fishermen selectively catch large and medium-sized parrotfish at coral reefs facing decline due to climate change, algae has a better chance of growing and overtaking the corals.

Nonetheless, according to the research, the reef’s biomass is maintained. This is because even with less of the large and medium-sized parrotfish, there would be many smaller parrotfish that would take their place.

The anemone fish's survival is at stake, due to climate change.

"Finding Nemo" clownfish won't survive climate change

A recent study by France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues indicates that the anemonefish does not have the genetic ability to adapt swiftly enough to climate change.

The findings of the study were published in the November 27 issue of the Ecology Letters journal.

The research was conducted in the lagoons of Kimbe Bay, covering more than a decade. This area is a biodiversity hotspot in Papua New Guinea.

Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush)
Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

Warmer waters in Ontario lakes messes with lake trout's diet

According to a new study, climate change is giving rise to changes in the diets of fishes in Ontario lakes, thereby altering the food webs there.

Researchers from the University of Guelph have discovered that the fish in Ontario lakes have been forced to forage in deeper waters due to the warmer average temperatures in the past decade. As a result, they consume prey species that are different from their normal diet, and this has led to a change in the flow of energy and nutrients in the lake.