[Coral-List] Re: Artificial Reefs-predator exclusion

[Ben Richards]

Todd and John -

	This statement from your last message gives me pause for thought.  How 
much should we be manipulating the natural environment and how careful 
do we need to be when thinking of long-term effects?  By excluding 
predators and allowing individuals to survive that would not have done 
so in a natural environment, are we not diluting the "fitness" of the 
adult population.  If ARs are effective and become used on a large 
scale, what long term effects might we be having on natural fish 
populations?  I know this issue has come up in the aquaculture industry 
as farm raised fish are accidentally released or escape into natural 
populations.

~ben


On Mar 8, 2004, at 1:12 PM, Todd Barber wrote:

> I agree that the post larval stage is critical, it is for this that 
> preditor exclusion devices can be used to increase juvinile fish 
> survival rates....once fish make to to 2 cm-3 cm or so, the survival 
> rates are much higher.  Dr. Robin Sherman from NOVA Southeastern 
> University did a nice study on this using artificial reefs with the 
> exclusion devices.

---
Benjamin L. Richards
Program Specialist for Research and Information Technology
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
P.O. Box 500368
Marathon, FL  33050

ben.richards at noaa.gov

phone: (305) 743-2437 x28
fax: (305) 743-2357
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http://floridakeys.noaa.gov