[Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation

[John McManus]

Lest we throw out the baby with the bathwater...

Bellwood and Choat (1990) put it nicely:
"The assumption that parrotfishes represent a single group of grazing
herbivores is addressed by morphological, functional and ecological analyses
.. This assumption is rejected . "

Bellwood and Wainwright (2002) have a great set of histograms. Very few
species of scarids (parrotfish) are involved in substantial bioerosion. In
the Caribbean, only 1 of at least 6 species are involved. Only 2 of 15 Great
Barrier Reef System species and only 4 of 10 in the Red Sea are involved. 

Most parrotfish are important algal grazers.

Bellwood DR, Choat JH (1990) A functional analysis of grazing in
parrotfishes (family Scaridae): the ecological implications. Environmental
Biology of Fishes 28.1-4:189-214

Bellwood DR, Wainwright PC (2002) The history and biogeography of fishes on
coral reefs. pp. 5-32.  In: "Coral Reef Fishes. Dynamics and diversity in a
complex ecosystem" (P.F. Sale, ed.), Academic Press, San Diego.

Cheers!

John




-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Eugene Shinn
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 1:48 PM
To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: [Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation

Steve, I know Parrot fish are a delicacy in the Pacific. They are protected
in the Fla Keys and at anytime of day you can watch them biting chunks out
of live coral especially Montastrea sp. Once they are listed we might want
to consider spearing them to protect the coral from" harm." Since it was
discovered that the listed Spotted Owl in old Growth Forests is declining
due to predation by Barred Owls  the Fish and Wild Life Service is shooting
the Barred Owls. If it works for Spotted Owls maybe it will work for
corals...Outrageous eh? Well who knows what the future will bring in the
world of government regulations and unintended consequences. Gene
-- 


No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158----------------------------------
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