March 1, 2017 An image of a Caribbean reef shark in the Bahama. Credit: Neil Hammerschlag <\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that up to 90 percent of predatory fish are gone from Caribbean coral reefs, straining the ocean ecosystem and coastal economy. The good news? They identified reefs, known as supersites, which can support large numbers of predator fishes that if reintroduced, can help restore the environmental and economic setback inflicted by overfishing. <\/p>\n
The work, led by former UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student Abel Valdivia working with John Bruno, a marine biologist at UNC College of Arts & Sciences, suggests that these supersites - reefs with many nooks and crannies on its surface that act as hiding places for prey (and attract predators) - should be prioritized for protection and could serve as regional models showcasing the value of biodiversity for tourism and other uses. Other features that make a supersite are amount of available food, size of reef and proximity to mangroves. <\/p>\n
\"On land, a supersite would be a national park like Yellowstone, which naturally supports an abundance of varied wildlife and has been protected by the federal government,\" said Bruno, whose work appears in the March 1 issue of Science Advances. <\/p>\n
The team surveyed 39 reefs across the Bahamas, Cuba, Florida, Mexico and Belize, both inside and outside marine reserves, to determine how much fish had been lost by comparing fish biomass on pristine sites to fish biomass on a typical reef. They estimated the biomass in each location and found that 90 percent of predatory fish were gone due to overfishing. <\/p>\n
What they didn't expect to find was a ray of hopea small number of reef locations that if protected could substantially contribute to the recovery of predatory fish populations and help restore depleted species. <\/p>\n
\"Some features have a surprisingly large effect on how many predators a reef can support,\" said Courtney Ellen Cox, a coauthor and former UNC-Chapel Hill doctoral student now at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. For example, researchers believe that the Columbia Reef within the fisheries closures of Cozumel, Mexico, could support an average 10 times the current level of predatory fish if protected. <\/p>\n
Not long ago, large fishes were plentiful on coral reefs, but are now largely absent due to targeted fishing. Today, predators are larger and more abundant within the marine reserves than on unprotected, overfished reefs. But even some of the marine reserves have seen striking declines, largely due to lack of enforcement of fishing regulations. <\/p>\n
The bottom line is protection of predatory fish is a win-win from both an environmental and an economical perspective, explained Bruno. <\/p>\n
\"A live shark is worth over a million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifespan because sharks live for decades and thousands of people will travel and dive just to see them up close,\" said Valdivia, now at the Center for Biological Diversity in Oakland, Calif. \"There is a massive economic incentive to restore and protect sharks and other top predators on coral reefs.\" <\/p>\n
Explore further: Isolated coral reefs far from human activity are not healthier <\/p>\n
More information: \"Predatory fish depletion and recovery potential on Caribbean reefs\" Science Advances, advances.sciencemag.org\/content\/3\/3\/e1601303<\/p>\n
For the world's coral reefs, the picture keeps getting gloomier. Although it's widely assumed that both local and global factors are contributing to their decline, new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel ... <\/p>\n
Fishing is fundamentally altering the food chain in coral reefs and putting extra pressure on top-level predator fish, according to new research. <\/p>\n
If there was a top-rated restaurant in a dangerous part of the city, chances are some brave souls would be willing to risk it all for a delicious meal. <\/p>\n
New research shows that fishing is having a significant impact on the make-up of fish populations of the Great Barrier Reef. <\/p>\n
Coral reefs wouldn't be the same without their beautiful fish. <\/p>\n
About 200 countries worldwide committed to protecting 10% of national marine areas by signing the Convention on Biological Diversity. But more ambitious marine reserve coverage policies that target unprotected fishing grounds ... <\/p>\n
The combination of prolonged hot spells with poor air quality greatly compounds the negative effects of each and can pose a major risk to human health, according to new research from the University of California, Irvine. <\/p>\n
Human industry and ingenuity has done more to diversify and distribute minerals on Earth than any development since the rise of oxygen over 2.2 billion years ago, experts say in a paper published today. <\/p>\n
Iron particles generated by cities and industry are being dissolved by man-made air pollution and washed into the sea - potentially increasing the amount of greenhouse gases that the world's oceans can absorb, a new study ... <\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that up to 90 percent of predatory fish are gone from Caribbean coral reefs, straining the ocean ecosystem and coastal economy. The good news? They ... <\/p>\n
The World Meteorological Organization announced today new verified record high- temperatures in Antarctica, an area once described as \"the last place on Earth.\" The temperatures range from the high 60s (in Fahrenheit) to ... <\/p>\n
Since the 1920s, excessive pumping of groundwater at thousands of wells in California's San Joaquin Valley has caused land in sections of the valley to subside, or sink, by as much as 28 feet (8.5 meters). This subsidence ... <\/p>\n
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Read this article:<\/p>\n
Ninety percent of predatory fish gone from Caribbean coral reefs ... - Phys.Org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 1, 2017 An image of a Caribbean reef shark in the Bahama. Continue reading