[Coral-List] Hawksbill turtle predating on corals
Barbara Whitman
terramar at caribcable.com
Thu May 15 11:42:17 EDT 2008
The hawksbill turtles I have raised love sea anemones. If they are in a
tank with one it does not last more than a minute or two. They have also
eaten the corals but I didn't make note of what kind. The hawksbill turtles
are usually in a tank that is as close to a reef environment as I can get
it. They have eaten, on their own, many kinds of fish, slipper lobsters,
spiny lobsters, anemones, corals, crabs.
Barb Whitman
Nevis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Camilla Floros" <cfloros at ori.org.za>
To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 2:18 AM
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Hawksbill turtle predating on corals
> Hi David
>
> Several years ago while diving at Sodwana Bay (South Africa), I saw a
> hawksbill feeding on soft coral like it was candy floss (if I remember
> correctly it was a Sarcophyton). The turtle ate at least a third of the
> colony with great 'relish'. I haven't as yet observed turtles feeding on
> hard corals.
>
> Camilla
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Hawskbill turtles predating corals (William Allison)
> 2. Re: White spined diadema (Martin Moe)
> 3. Re: White-spined Diadema antillarum (Barbara Whitman)
> 4. Re: Coral bleaching in the western pacific warm pool. (Mark Eakin)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 08:25:39 -0400
> From: "William Allison" <allison.billiam at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Hawskbill turtles predating corals
> To: "David Obura" <dobura at africaonline.co.ke>
> Cc: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
> <1eab821b0805120525x63ca90abm1e72739ba45ce87b at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hi David,
> I observed this behaviour once in Maldives where I have also seen
> hawksbills
> grazing on false corals.
> Bill
>
> On Sat, May 10, 2008 at 3:14 PM, David Obura <dobura at africaonline.co.ke>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> While in Aldabra and Alphonse islands (Seychelles) I noted a
>> behaviour/effect of hawskbill turtles that I've never heard mentioned
>> before. I had noted dead patches/scars on a bubble coral in the genus
>> Physogyra that were widespread, though not covering a large proportion of
>> the coral. I was watching a hawksbill turtle swimming out from behind one
>> of
>> these heads and noticed that it had tissue in its mouth, and it bent down
>> and took a bite from the coral. I then observed the same behaviour and
>> coral-scars on Alphonse.
>>
>> Has anyone reported hard coral tissue in hawksbill gut contents, or
>> damage
>> to corals from turtle predation? I'm intrigued, as though the impact was
>> not
>> huge to the corals, this was definitely a stable food source for the
>> turtles, and impact on the corals.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> David Obura
>> CORDIO East Africa
>> 9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Public Beach
>> P.O.BOX 10135 Mombasa 80101, Kenya
>> Tel/fax: +254-20-3548549; mobile 0733-851656
>> dobura at cordioea.org, dobura at africaonline.co.ke
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 06:31:28 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Martin Moe <martin_moe at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] White spined diadema
> To: Robert Miller <rjmiller1 at gmail.com>, John Ware <jware at erols.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <961181.54894.qm at web42105.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> On white spined Diadema,
> I've seen and collected numerous white spined Diadema. The cause and
> occurrence of the white spines is not clear to me. I know that on the arms
> of the urchin, yes, they have arms, sort of. On the test there are 5
> triangular plates, the ambulacral plates, that are like the 5 arms of a
> starfish but as if they were folded up from the aboral pole and fused into
> the spherical body. The tube feet of the urchin are located on the edges
> of
> these plates. The spines that originate on these ambulacral plates and the
> spines that originate from the interambulacrum areas are generally
> indistinguishable during the day, but at night the spines on the 5
> ambulacral plates are usually white or whitish and give the urchin a sort
> of
> striped look. This the nocturnal color phase. Juveniles have spines with
> variable dark and white ringed spines. From working with my brood stock, I
> got the impression that it is the older individuals that seem to retain
> the
> nocturnal coloration
> during the day. In my brood stock I have two individuals that permanently
> retain white spines on the ambulacral plates, these two are males.... But
> there are other males that do not retain the nocturnal coloration. And I
> have collected some individuals with all brilliant while spines, from not
> particularly deep in the reef, and with "normally" dark purple colored
> individuals in the same area. I have had individuals that were all white
> on
> collection become dark after a time in the brood stock tank and some that
> permanently retain full or partial white coloration for a year or
> more.Usually it is the larger (older?) individuals that exhibit partial or
> total white spines, but some smaller individuals also have this
> coloration.
> Also, the incident of white spined individuals seems to vary in different
> areas of the reef. Some areas seem to have considerably more individuals
> with partial or full white spine coloration than other areas.
> So, basically, some Diadema, a relatively small percentage, have a
> permanent
> or long term, all or partial white spine coloration, and I don't know why
> this is so.....
>
> Martin Moe
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Robert Miller <rjmiller1 at gmail.com>
> To: John Ware <jware at erols.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2008 1:34:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] White spined diadema
>
> Hi,Somewhere out there is an old study that showed, I believe, that
> juvenile
> Diadema that were raised in the dark were all white. Other studies have
> shown, as John Ware says, that more white ones are found deeper and under
> rocks etc. Unfortunately I don't have the references now.
> good luck,
> Bob
>
> On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 10:06 AM, John Ware <jware at erols.com> wrote:
>
>> Stuart,
>>
>> I was hoping that someone who had firm knowledge would respond, because
>> my memory is old and feeble. Some 15 or 20 years ago I read a paper
>> (which I cannot recall or find) that stated that the white-spined D.a.
>> were more often found in low visibility environments. At least that is
>> my recollection.
>>
>> John
>>
>> Stuart P. Wynne wrote:
>>
>> >Dear all,
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >I have been trying to find references to the white spined Diadema
>> >antillarum that I sometimes see in our waters here in Anguilla. As I am
>> >not privy to open access (but please let us not get onto that subject
>> >again!) I have been struggling to find any mention of the causes for
>> >this, only the fact that it is a fairly common thing to see. I guess it
>> >is a lack of pigment? As all such individuals I've seen here are large,
>> >could it be something that signifies they are reaching old age? Does it
>> >indicate a lack of something in their diet? Pollution/eutrophication? If
>> >anyone has any ideas/knowledge I would love to learn.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >On a separate note I would like to send out a big thank you to the three
>> >people who posted on the coral-list vol 59 issue 6. For the first time
>> >since I have been a member I did not have to wade through endless reams
>> >of old postings (that had been left tagged to the bottom of their entry)
>> >while trying to figure out which messages were the new messages. Well
>> >done! Maybe we can keep this up?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Stuart Wynne
>> >Marine Biologist
>> >Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources
>> >Anguilla
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Government of Anguilla
>> >_______________________________________________
>> >Coral-List mailing list
>> >Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> >http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>> --
>> *************************************************************
>> * *
>> * John R. Ware, PhD *
>> * President *
>> * SeaServices, Inc. *
>> * 19572 Club House Road *
>> * Montgomery Village, MD, 20886, USA *
>> * 301 987-8507 *
>> * jware at erols.com *
>> * http://www.seaservices.org *
>> * fax: 301 987-8531 *
>> * Treasurer and Member of the Council: *
>> * International Society for Reef Studies *
>> * _ *
>> * | *
>> * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *
>> * _|_ *
>> * | _ | *
>> * _______________________________| |________ *
>> * |\/__ Untainted by Technology \ *
>> * |/\____________________________________________/ *
>> *************************************************************
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Robert J. Miller
> Marine Science Institute
> University of California, Santa Barbara
> Santa Barbara CA 93106-6150
> (805) 893-7295
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 11:34:52 -0400
> From: "Barbara Whitman" <terramar at caribcable.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] White-spined Diadema antillarum
> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>, "Gordon Hendler"
> <hendler at nhm.org>
> Message-ID: <54854ECCE0F94C03AF6CF4B06DF15943 at BarbaraWhitmPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> I have had individuals in my aquariums that were originally all
> black-spined
>
> but did end up with some white spines. My aquariums are directly linked
> to
> the Caribbean and sometimes during a surge they bring in fine sediments so
> perhaps that had something to do with it.. I have also had small Diadema
> which were all black. The black coloring does come off the spines
> sometimes
> if you touch them - which unfortunately I do fairly often when cleaning
> the
> tanks. I have not noticed a difference in their coloring between day and
> night and when the water is clean opposed to when there are fine sediments
> making the water more murky but I will pay more attention now.
>
> Barb Whitman
> Under the Sea Sealife Education Centre
> Nevis, West Indies
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gordon Hendler" <hendler at nhm.org>
> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 12:32 AM
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] White-spined Diadema antillarum
>
>
>> According to Moore (1966:81) large Diadema antillarum with some or many
>> white or gray spines "...are found in darker and more turbid conditions
>> and
>> frequently in caves. In my experience, they seem to be more common in
>> deep
>> water around Caribbean reefs than at shallow depths. The spines of
>> juveniles are always banded with black and white. Individuals change
>> color
>> in response to the intensity of illumination. Animals that are black
>> during
>> the day pale at night.
>> Hendler et al. 1995. Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, and Allies. Echinoderms of
>> Florida and the Caribbean. Smithsonian Institution Press. 390 pp.
>> Moore, H.B. Ecology of echinoids. In: Physiology of Echinodermata, ed.
>> R.A.
>> Boolootian, 73-85. John-Wiley Interscience. N.Y.
>>
>>
>> ********************************************
>> Gordon Hendler, Ph.D.
>> Curator of Echinoderms
>> Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
>> 900 Exposition Boulevard
>> Los Angeles, California 90007 U.S.A.
>> Voice: 213 763 3526
>> Fax: 213 746 2999
>> ********************************************
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 11:51:40 -0400
> From: Mark Eakin <Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Coral bleaching in the western pacific warm
> pool.
> To: Ruben van Hooidonk <rubski at gmail.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <8167A324-038E-41B2-B46B-642D634A5692 at noaa.gov>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes;
> format=flowed
>
> You should look at a recent paper by Kleypas et al. on this subject:
>
> Kleypas, Joan A., Gokhan Danabasoglu, and Janice M. Lough (2008)
> Potential role of the ocean thermostat in determining regional
> differences in coral reef bleaching events. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH
> LETTERS, VOL. 35, L03613, doi:10.1029/2007GL032257.
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
>
>
> On May 7, 2008, at 5:24 PM, Ruben van Hooidonk wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> During research on thermal coral bleaching in the western pacific
>> warm pool,
>> I noticed that observations of coral bleaching in that region are very
>> limited in the reefbase.org database. I would like to know if
>> anyone knows
>> of any bleaching episodes not recorded in that database.
>>
>> You can see the location of the warm pool here:
>> http://roskilde.eas.purdue.edu/~ruben/wpwp.jpg
>>
>> If you know of any observations of bleaching in that region, please to
>> submit your data on the form that can be found here:
>> http://roskilde.eas.purdue.edu/~ruben/bleaching_in_WPWP.php
>>
>> Thank you very much for your help, and if you have any questions or
>> remarks
>> please ask me directly,
>>
>> Ruben van Hooidonk
>> Purdue University
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------
> C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D.
> Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
> Center for Satellite Applications and Research
> Satellite Oceanography & Climate Division
> e-mail: mark.eakin at noaa.gov
> url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
>
> E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5308
> 1335 East West Highway
> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
> 301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
> End of Coral-List Digest, Vol 59, Issue 11
> ******************************************
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
More information about the Coral-List
mailing list