After a stint of nineteen years in the park, the only sawfish at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which is thought to be somewhere in the vicinity of eighty years of age, has been sent off to a breeding program in New Orleans, officials have commented.

Michael Mraco, the park Animal Care Director, has commented that this particular species of shark can live for two centuries “so he’s not the old man we thought he was”.

“Buzz” has been living among five or six shark species at the Shark Experience in the park until this past Friday when he headed for his new home.

“We all feel this is good for Buzz and good for the species, which is endangered,” commented John Schultz, Curator of Fish for the park.

Muraco has explained how this transfer came to take place, and just how an eight decade old shark makes its way to a breeding program.

“This led to a conversation with the Autobahn Aquarium in New Orleans, and they mentioned there are only a handful of these animals left in United States and that they’re at risk in the wild and they asked how we’d feel about a cooperative breeding program,” Muraco explained.

And there you have it.. That is how an eighty year old shark is getting the chance to get his groove back on, and help save his species from extinction. It’s a tough job, but “Buzz” certainly seems up to the task.

Photo Dr P Andreas Svensson

Scientists out at the Monasah University have stumbled onto an amazing discovery. It appears that male Australian desert goby fish are smart when it comes to getting in the sack. They tend to adapt their ways of thinking when females are scarce.

The goby fish devote an abundant amount of time, energy, and risk their lives looking for a mate. Previous studies have shown that the male gobies are more likely to court bigger females as they can carry more eggs than the smaller females.

However, our clever little goby fish knows when he is beat, and knows when to settle. A new study, recently published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, shows that if the male goby finds himself with a lack of females in his area, he will go after any that he finds, regardless of how big they are.

Doctors Bob Wong, Topi Lehtonen and Andreas Svenson have expanded upon their previous studies by getting their hands on goby fish from Central Australia, and keeping their eyes on them, in controlled conditions of course.

Dr Bob Wong, who is a senior lecturer in the Science Faculty at the university, has commented that the study has indicated that when the male goby ran into more females, they were far more picky about who they mated with, and how much energy they would use in the attempt.

“By contrast, males will court females vigorously irrespective of her attractiveness if passing females are few and far between,” Dr Wong explained.

This just goes to show that the male goby “like big butts and they cannot lie”, but more importantly know when they are licked, and know that beggars cannot be choosers.

Stickleback

Recent research has come to the astonishing conclusion that fish, specifically the males, positively refuse to ask for directions when they are breeding.

A recent research project, by the University of St. Andrews, has found that male fish seem to become more anti-social feeders, becoming even more so when they are ready to spawn.

As a result of this, they put themselves in greater peril, by leaving the shoal behind.

The claim is being made by researchers in charge of the project that this is one of the first studies performed that has shown a differences in the sexes when it comes to how animals learn from one another.

The current belief is that this trait is only seen in male fish when they are getting ready to spawn or are spawning, and may correlate to the distinct pressures faced by the sexes when spawning.

The research was conducted by Dr. Mike Webster and Professor Kevin Laland, whose goal was to take a look at the copying and learning behaviors of ninespine stickleback.

It appears the males tend to look for food reserves on their own, so that they can properly protect their young when the time comes, and this is why they don’t feed together.

Dr Webster added: “We are all familiar with the stereotype of males refusing to ask for directions – this might apply to fish too, but only when they are preparing to breed.”

Many people are happy, and patting themselves on the back after finding the first baby sea horse at one of the leading breeding colonies in Dorset.

The tiny fry, what you call a tiny baby seahorse, discovered at Studland Bay is 4 centimeters in length.

Displayed sea horse is not from the dorset population.

The Seahorse Trust has claimed that the seahorses are an endangered animal, as many boats and mooring chains are taking big hunks and tearing up the seabed.

The Marine Management Organization, a government entity, has said that although research has been ongoing into the subject, there was no conclusive evidence that mooring chains are a threat to seahorses.

The Seahorse Trust is pushing for the protection of these amazing animals under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which came into existence in 2008.

“The trust and its volunteer divers have seen adults, pregnant males and juveniles on the site before but never a baby (fry),” a representative of the Seahorse Trust has commented.
“It does not mean they are thriving, quite the reverse, they appear to be hanging on in there against the odds of hundreds of boats dropping anchors and mooring chains ripping up the seabed, destroying their fragile home.”

The main goal of the Seahorse Trust is to get those nasty moorings replaced with more environmentally sound ones which do not damage seagrass, and for boat users to switch to these new devices.

Hopefully the discovery of this new baby seahorse will prompt some more interest in the issue, and something will be done to help protect these magnificent sea creatures.

The gar family, famous for containing the largest fresh water fishes in Mexico, is currently at risk of becoming extinct – something which Mexican researchers are working hard to prevent.

“This fish is native to our country and the United States”, Doctor Eduardo Mendoza Alfaro explains. “Currently, its populations are threatened due to excessive hunting, — for there are no rules that regulate its fishing — urban expansion, pollution, and particularly the dams´ construction, which caused the destruction of their breeding grounds. These factors led this species to reduce to only forty adult specimens in the country — in inventory and considered national patrimony.”

Doctor Eduardo Mendoza Alfaro*, a member of the ‘Eco-physiology Group,’ from the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon’s (UANL) School of Biological Sciences Ecological Department, is currently researching gar reproduction and diet in order to find ways of efficiently raising gars in captivity. The team also works with several other types of endangered fish, but the gar – which can reach a length of three meter and is highly esteemed by sport fishers – is arguably the most iconic.

Lepisosteus platostomus – Shortnosed gar, Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

One of the hurdles that must be overcome to ease gar raising in captivity is how to distinguish males from females. In a reproductive facility you want to keep an ideal sex ration – with gars this is four males for each female – but this is difficult to accomplish without reliable sexing methods.

“We could not identify females and males, because, morphologically, they are

Identical”, says Dr Alfaro. “Even though most of the fish can be cannulated in order to know their gender and maturation status, for gar is not the same process, that is what represents

the first obstacle for scientifics when they were carrying out the reproduction

studies and establishing fish’s gender. Most of the fish can be cannulated by introducing them a catheter in the oviduct in order to take the oocytes (ovules). However, this process cannot

be carried out with the gar. They are so primitive fish, which date since 189 million years ago and their urinal tract which ends with the oviduct in a kind of sewer that cannot allow the

cannulation.”

To overcome the problem, Dr Alfaro and his team devised a new technique based on a molecule known as vitelogenine. Vitelogenine is present only in females from puberty and onwards, and can be used as a biochemical marker.

First, the team purified the molecule. Then, they created antibodies against the molecule for recognizing and quantifying it.

“Currently, we got an extremely sensitive method which allows us to dose this molecule with only a small sample of fish’s skin mucus, says Dr Alfaro. “So, we not only identified if it is a female or a male, but we can follow up females’ sexual maturation.”

Gar facts

· The gar family evolved during the cretaceous.

· A gar can weigh up to 220 lbs.

· The gar is a predatory fish with an elongated jaw. It is sometimes referred to as alligator fish due to its resemblance to the predatory reptile. It has numerous sharp teeth and a body protected by hard scales.

· Gars spawn in swamps during the wet season and destruction of wetlands poses a problem for them.

· In the wild, several males follow the female wanting to fertilize her eggs as she deposits them.

· Mexico is the world’s leading gar specimen producer.

*Roberto Eduardo Mendoza Alfaro is a professor at the UANL´s School of Biological Sciences Ecology Department in Leon, Mexico.

Sea Lamprey spawning sites have been discovered in the River Wear at Chester-le-Street, County Durham, by local anglers. After being alerted by the fishermen, the Environment Agency found no less than 12 spawning sites, known as redds, measuring up to a metre across.

“We were thrilled to discover lampreys back in the River Wear as these rare blood-suckers show us that the water quality in the river is very high“, says Environment Agency fisheries officer Paul Frear. “Lampreys are extremely selective with their spawning sites and will only nest where the water quality is optimal. Today, only three species of this blood-sucking creature remain in Britain and their habitats are protected by an EC directive.”

The lamprey feeds by attaching itself to another animal with its suction-cup like mouth and, once in place, gradually rasps away tissue from its host. The largest specimens are roughly 100 cm long, but most lampreys are smaller than this.

If you see a lamprey or a lamprey redd (nest) in the UK, please report the sighting directly to Paul Frear by e-mailing him at paul.frear@environment-agency.gov.uk.

As reported earlier, invasive sea lampreys have caused serious problems in North America where they lack natural enemies.

Picture is from North America where the lamprey have caused serious problems.

First of, let me tell everyone how sorry I am that I have been posting a bit sporadic lately. Things have been crazy but hopefully they will improve even though it still might be a couple of weeks until they do. Until then you will unfortunately have to be content with the host I do manage to post. But now, without further ado, on to the Asian arowana

Asian Arowana – Scleropages formosus. Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

Bristol Zoo Gardens have bred the rare Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus). The spawning resulted in 15 fry which are now estimated to be nine weeks old. The staff did not witness the spawning which is why they can only estimate the age of the fry for this mouth-breeding species. It is not the first time the Asian Arowanas have spawned in Bristol Zoo Gardens, but it is the first time the fry have survived.

Bristol Zoo Gardens has kept four Arowanas, also known as Dragon fish, for 13 years. They received the specimens from the UK custom services who had confiscated them after revealing an attempt to smuggle them into the country.

The zoo has recently taken steps to improve the Arowana exhibit by using reverse osmosis, and has also increased the temperature in the holding tanks. The assistant curator of the aquarium at Bristol Zoo Gardens, Jonny Rudd, believes that one of these actions might be the reason behind the successful breeding. This might very well be true but I also wish to mention the possibility that it might simply have to do with the parents getting more mature and learning from past failures, a well known phenomenon in mouth brooding fish and other fish that care for their young.

This is as far as I know the first time this species have been bred outside Asia.

The Asian Arowana is very rare in the wild and is on the brink of extinction in Thailand. It is red listed by Cites and can not be imported to many countries. This species is bred in farms in Asia where it is a popular exclusive aquarium fish, believed to bring luck due to its resemblance to a dragon. It is today available in a variety of different colorations and morphs. In Asia you can by farm bred fish with certifications stating that they are farm bred and not wild caught, and some countries allow you to import such specimens. You can read more about the Asian Arowana here.

Detroit Sky Line (picture by: Keith Syvinski)

The opportunity to reclaim once flourishing breeding grounds is now looking good for the sturgeon in the Detroit River. These massive fish that live over 100 years and can grow over 7 feet, are being given a helping hand in finding love. Once fished to near extinction, the sturgeon have fought against the odds to stay around; the pollution and runoff into the Detroit River however, destroyed their breeding grounds; but now years of Detroit River restoration efforts have finally provided clean water for breeding to be done in. The next step, rebuilding a breeding reef for the sturgeon to lay their eggs and rear their fry. The reef will cost a whopping $178,000, which has been paid for through foundations, the government, and other institutions.

To read this article in its entirety visit : http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804280360