As part of a reef restoration study, researchers removed 20 specimens of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge from the Conch Reef off of Key Largo, Florida and then re-attached them using sponge holders consisting of polyvinyl chloride piping. The sponge holders were anchored in concrete blocks set on a plastic mesh base. Some sponges were reattached at a depth of 15 meters and some further down at 30 metres.

Venus Flower Basket sponge. A deep sea glass species.

The results of the study now show that sponges are capable of reattaching themselves to reefs if we help them by keeping them properly secured during the recuperation period. After being held stationary by sponge holders for as little as 6 months the sponges had reattached themselves to the Conch Reef. Of the 20 specimens reattached in 2004 and 2005, 62.5 percent survived at least 2.3-3 years and 90 percent of the sponges attached in deep water locations survived. During the study period, the area endured no less than four hurricanes.

This is very good news for anyone interested in reef restoration, since the new technique can be used to rescue sponges that have been dislodged from reefs by human activities or storms. Each year, a large number of sponges are extricated from reefs by human activities such as vessel groundings and the cutting movements of chains and ropes moving along with debris in strong currents. Severe storms can also rip sponges from the reef, which wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that so many sponges are also being removed by human activities. When combined, storms and human activities risk decimating sponge populations. Old sponges can be hundreds or even thousands of years old and their diameter can exceed 1 meter (over 3 feet). Sponges of such an impressive size and age can naturally not be rapidly replaced by new sponges if they die.

Sponges can survive for quite a while after being dislodged but is difficult for them to reattach themselves to reefs without any help since they tend to be swept away by currents and end up between reef spurs on sand or rubble, where they slowly erode and eventually die.

“The worldwide decline of coral reef ecosystems has prompted many local restoration efforts, which typically focus on reattachment of reef-building corals,” says Professor Joseph Pawlik of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, co-author of the study. “Despite their dominance on coral reefs, large sponges are generally excluded from restoration efforts because of a lack of suitable methods for sponge reattachment.”

The results of the study, which were published in Restoration Ecology, show that we can help the sponges to survive by using the new technique. Earlier attempts were less successful since they relied on cement or epoxy; two types of adhesives that do not bind well to sponge tissue.

A recent study on intersex abnormalities in fish living in the Potomac River watershed carried out by researchers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey showed that at least 82 percent of male smallmouth bass and in 23 percent of the largemouth bass had immature female germ cells (oocytes) in their reproductive organs. This number is even larger than anticipated.

This type of intersex indicates that the fish has been exposed to estrogens or chemicals that mimic the activity of natural hormones. The condition is believed to be caused by hormone-like chemicals, so called endocrine disruptors, found in medicines and a variety of consumer products. Earlier, researchers suspected that the contaminants were entering the Potomac from the wastewater treatment plants that discharge into it, but further sampling showed that the problem existed in areas located upstream from sewage plants as well. Officials are now investigating if multiple chemicals, and not just those from sewage plants, may be responsible. A larger study that includes the entire Potomac River and other East Coast rivers will be launched to find out how widespread the problem actually is.

“At the moment we don’t know the ecological implications of this condition and it could potentially affect the reproductive capability of important sport fish species in the watershed,” said Leopoldo Miranda, Supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office.

The Potomac River is the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the USA (in terms of area), with a length of approximately 665 km (383 statute miles) and a drainage area of roughly 38,000 km² (14,700 square miles). It flows into the Chesapeake Bay along the mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S. The river is shared by West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia, and all of Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital city, lies within the Potomac watershed.

More information is available in the Intersex fact sheet released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office.

The cichlid genus Crenicichla now has two new described members: Crenicichla tesay and Crenicichla mandelburgeri.

Crenicichla tesay

Crenicichla tesay lives in the Paraná River drainage and was described by Argentinian ichthyologists Jorge Casciotta and Adriana Almirón. The fish was caught in the Iguazú River upstream of Iguazú falls in Argentina, an environment characterized by falls and pools with clear and rapidly flowing water. The bottom in this habitat consists of stones, mud and sand.

The name Crenicichla tesay is derived from the Guaraní word for tears; the fish displays a tear-shaped suborbital stripe. You can distinguish Crenicichla tesay from its close relatives by the existence of a serrated posterior preopercle border, the number of scales on the E1 row, the length of the snout, and the colour pattern which consists of a suborbital stripe, 4–6 dark blotches and numerous irregularly scattered dots on the sides of the body.

The description has been published in the journal Revue Suisse de Zoologie[1]. For more information, see the paper: Casciotta, J and A Almirón (2008) Crenicichla tesay, a new species of cichlid (Perciformes: Labroidei) from the río Iguazú basin in Argentina. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 115, pp. 651–660.

Crenicichla mandelburgeri

Just like Crenicichla tesay, this newly described cichlid hails from the Paraná River drainage. It was described by Swedish ichthyologist Sven Kullander and named Crenicichla mandelburgeri in honour of Paraguayan ichthyologist Darío Mandelburger.

The Crenicichla mandelburgeri specimens were collected from two different environments. Some lived in the rapids of a large stream (5-10 meters wide and up to 1 meter deep) with turbid, brownish water. Others lived in a much smaller stream (up to 3 meters wide) with shallower brown water where both velocity and transparency fluctuated. In this environment, the bottom consisted of stones and sand and was generally without any plants.

Young Crenicichla mandelburgeri cichlids feature numerous narrow vertical bars along the side, which changes into an irregular dark horizontal band as the fish matures. You can also distinguish Crenicichla mandelburgeri from other crenicichlas by the distinct caudal blotch, the number of scales in the lateral row and in the E1 row, the lower jaw (which is longer than the upper), and the serrated preopercular margin.

For more information, see the paper: Kullander, SO (2009) Crenicichla mandelburgeri, a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Paraná river drainage in Paraguay. You can find it in Zootaxa 2006: 41–50.[2]

Crenicichla

Crenicichla is the cichlid genus where you can find the largest number of described species, about 75 species. They live on the South American continent where they inhabit freshwater rivers, streams, pools and lakes. The richest variation of species is encountered in the Amazon region, but you can find Crenicichla cichlids as far north as Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia and as far south as Uruguay and central Argentina where the water can become fairly cold in the winter.

Sri Lankan scientists have described a new species of fish from south-western Sri Lanka and placed in the genus Puntius.

Unlike its close relatives in Sri Lanka and India, the new species Puntius kelumi feature a combination of a smooth last unbranched dorsal-fin ray, a body depth that is 28.6-35.5 % of standard length (SL), maxillary barbels (about as long as the eye diameter) but no rostral barbels, 20-23 lateral-line scales on the body, and ½3/1/2½ scales in transverse line from mid-dorsum to pelvic-fin origin. One breeding males, the sides of the head and body are rough and extensively tuberculated.

Puntius kelumi is primarily found in large streams with clear water that flows down from the mountains. The bottom is typically made up by granite, pebbles and/or sand and is often littered with boulders.

The description was published by the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters.

For more information about Puntius kelumi, see the paper: Pethiyagoda, R, A Silva, K Maduwage and M Meegaskumbura (2008) Puntius kelumi, a new species of cyprinid fish from Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19, pp. 201–214.

http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief19_3_02.pdf

A picture of the new species can be seen here

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Puntius is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae. All known members of the genus are native to Southeast Asia and India, including Sri Lanka. The name Puntius is derived from the word pungti, which is the term for small cyprinids in the Bangla (Bengali) language.

Puntius fish are commonly referred to as spotted barbs, but some species display vertical black bands instead of spots. Spotted barbs are commonly kept by aquarists and are known to be active, curious and bold. Many of them are unsuitable companions for fish with long and flowing finnage since they tend to nip such fins, a habit which causes both injury and stress in the afflicted animal.

A research group[1] studying the hunting ability of the great white shark has found evidence indicating that this notorious predator actually has a fairly weak bite. In several movies – including the legendary Spielberg film “Jaws” – the great white shark has been portrayed as a hunter blessed with an exceptionally strong bite, but the allegedly fierce jaw power of Carcharodon carcharias is now being questioned.

According to research leader Dr Daniel Huber of the University of Tampa in Florida, sharks actually have very weak jaws for their size and can bite through their prey mainly thanks to their extremely sharp teeth – and because they can grow to be so large.

Photo by Terry Goss, copyright 2006

“Pound for pound, sharks don’t bite all that hard,” says Dr Huber. Compared to mammals, sharks have amazingly weak bites for their size. Lions and tigers are for instance equipped with much more jaw strength than sharks when you account for body size. According to Huber, mammals have evolved much more efficient jaw muscles.

During the study, Dr Huber and his team studied 10 different shark species. The bites of small sharks were fairly easy to measure, while large sharks had to be knocked out and subjected to mild electricity in order to stimulate their jaw muscles.

As mentioned above, sharks don’t really need strong jaws since they can grow so large and are fitted with extraordinarily sharp teeth. In addition to this, they also benefit from having very wide jaws. When they tear an animal apart, they frequently use a sawing motion.

Dr Huber hopes that their study will lead to the development of protective swim wear and other types of shark-proofing gear.

If you wish to read more, you can find the study “Is Extreme Bite Performance Associated with Extreme Morphologies in Sharks?” in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/588177?prevSearch=(shark)+AND+[journal%3A+pbz]

A group of scientists from the Catalyst One expedition has discovered three previously unknown coral reefs 35 miles of the coast of Florida. The coral reefs consist mainly of Lophelia coral and are located at a depth of 450 metres (1475 feet).

Lophelia pertusa is a cold-water coral famous for its lack of zooxanthellae. The well known coral reefs found in warm, shallow waters – such as the Great Barrier Reef – consist of reef building corals that utilize energy from the sun by forming symbiotic relationship with photosynthesising algae. Lophelia pertusa on the other hand lives at great depths where there isn’t enough sunlight to sustain photosynthesising creatures, and survives by feeding on plankton.

The deep-sea reef habitat formed by Lophelia pertusa is important for a long row of deep water species, such as lanternfish, hatchetfish, conger eels and various molluscs, amphipods, and brittle stars. The reefs that we see today are extremely old, since Lophelia reefs typically grow no more than 1 mm per year. Unfortunately, these deep reefs are today being harmed by trawling and oil extraction.

The Catalyst One expedition will submit its newly acquired information to the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council to provide further data for the proposed Deep Coral Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC).

The Catalyst One expedition is a collaboration between the Waitt Institute for Discovery, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. It combines the scientific expertise of Harbor Branch’s senior research professor, John Reed, with Woods Hole’s high-tech operations skills and Waitt Institute’s modern autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

In order to reach these great depths and efficiently explore substantial areas, the expedition used REMUS 6000 AUV vehicles capable of carrying two kinds of sonar and a camera. With this type of equipment, each mission can last for up to 18 hours and provides the researchers with mosaic pictures of the bottom, pictures that can then be pieced together to form a detailed, high-definition map.

“Rarely do scientific expeditions produce solid results this quickly,” says Dr Shirley Pomponi, executive director of Harbor Branch. “This is a big win for the resource managers tasked with protecting these reefs and proof that cutting edge technology combined with the seamless teamwork of the three organisations involved in Catalyst One can accelerate the pace of discovery.”

You can find more information about the Catalyst program at the Waitt Institute for Discovery.

http://waittinstitute.org/wid/catalyst/

http://waittinstitute.org/wid/news/catalyst1.html

This post will introduce a number of new catfish species, a couple of tetras and an a few cichlid species.

Let’s start with the cichlid species. The species known as Apistogramma sp Mamore have been scientifically described by Wolfgang Staeck and Ingo Schindler and named A. erythrura. It is a small species and the largest speciemen that have been found so far was 30.8 mm SL. (just over 1.2 inch). It seems to feed on small invertebrates. Thy can be found in waters with the following conditions pH 5.2–6.4; electrical conductivity <10–20 μS/cm; total and temporary hardness < l°dH; water temperature 25.1–31.0°C. They are cave spawners and can be bred in aquariums. The male guards a territory which can contain several females. The females guard the fry.

Scientists Felipe Ottoni and Wilson Costa from Brazil have in the latest issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology described nine new species of Australoheros cichlids from southern Brazil[1].

Australoheros autrani, A. Barbosae, A. ipatinguensis, A. macacuensis, A. muriae, A. paraibae, A.s robustus, A. saquarema

New tetras

Two new species of flag tetra have been described[2]. Both species originates in Venezuela. The new species Hyphessobrycon paucilepis and H. tuyensis was described by Carlos García-Alzate, César Román-Valencia and Donald Taphorn in the latest issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology. At the same time they recognize three other valid species: H. diancistrus, H. fernandezi and H. sovichthys.

Hyphessobrycon paucilepis originates from the small drainages in Lara state, northern Venezuela. H. tuyensis from the Tuy River drainage in northern Venezuela

New catfish species

Brazilian scientists Héctor Alcaraz, Weferson da Graça and Oscar Shibatta have in the latest issue of the journal Neotropical Ichthyology named a new species of bumblebee catfish from Paraguay Microglanis carlae as attribute to ichthyologist Carla Pavanelli[3]. The species is found in moderately fast flowing water in Paraguay River drainage.

Brazilian ichthyologists Luisa Sarmento-Soares and Ronaldo Martins-Pinheiro have described three new Tatia species bringing the total number of described species up to twelve[4]. The three new species described are T. caxiuanensis (named after the Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã.), T. meesi (named after Gerloff Mees) and T. nigra (named after its dark color)

T. caxiuanensis is found in the Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, T. meesi in Essequibo River drainage in Guyana and T. nigra in the Uatumã and Trombetas river drainages.

Marcelo Rocha, Renildo de Oliveira and Lúcia Py-Daniel have described a new Gladioglanis catfish, Gladioglanis anacanthus, which can be found in the Aripuanã River in central Brazil[5].

Lúcia Py-Daniel and Ilana Fichberg have described a new whiptail catfish, Rineloricaria daraha. This new species is found in the Rio Daráa in the Rio Negro drainage which have given the species its name[6].

New species of catfish from the Ngounié River

Belgian and French scientist[1] have now described and named an African catfish sporting a striking pattern of irregular whitish lines and dots over a black background. The fish has been given the name Synodontis ngouniensis after its type locality, the Ngounié River drainage. The Ngounie River is the last and second most important tributary of the famous Ogowe River and flows through the country Gabon in west central Africa. The species can also be found in the Nyanga River drainage in Congo. (Nyanga is a smaller coastal river that runs through southern Gabon and northern Congo.)

The researchers collected Synodontis ngouniensis from a turbid part of the Ngounié River, where the temperature was 24°C (roughly 75°F) and the pH-value 8.4 (very alkaline).

Synodontis ngouniensis is a mochokid catfish. Its dorsal spine has a smooth anterior margin except for 1-4 feeble serrations that can be seen on the distal part. The species also has a maxillary barbel with a smooth membrane which is proximally at least as broad as the barbel thread and located on the posterior basal two third of the barbel. The fish is equipped with 12-19 mandibular teeth, 10-13 gill rakers on the ceratobranchial of the first branchial arch, and a triangular humeral process.

If you want to learn more, you can find the description of the fish in Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19[2].

New species of catfish from the Woleu River

This new species of mochokid catfish has long been confused with another similar species, Synodontis batesii, but has now been recognized as a species in its own right thanks to the work of researchers John Friel and John Sullivan. The new species has been given the name Synodontis woleuensis after the river Woleu and has is known to be present in the Woleu/Mbini/Uoro and Ntem basins of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa.

Synodontis woleuensis sports a dark background colour decorated with numerous small light spots of irregular shapes. A pair of light spots can be seen anterior and posterior to the adipose fin, and a narrow depigmented curved band runs along the anterior margin of the caudal fin. Another notable feature is the serrations on the anterior edge of the dorsal spine of the fish. 

If you wish to learn more about this new species, you can find the description in the latest issue of Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia[3].

A UK-Japan team equipped with remote-operated landers has now managed to film a shoal of Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis fish at a depth of 7.7 km (4.8 mi) in the Japan Trench, where the oceanic Pacific plate subducts beneath the continental Eurasian plate.

The deepest record for any fish – over 8 km / 5 mi – is held by the species Abyssobrotula galatheae, but this fish was never filmed or observed while it was alive; it was dredged from the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench and already dead when it reached the surface.

The Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis film shows the fish darting around in the dark, scooping up shrimps. The shoal consists of no less than 17 specimens, with the largest ones being around 30 cm (12 in) in length.

“It was an honour to see these fish“, says Dr Alan Jamieson, Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. “No-one has ever seen fish alive at these depths before – you just never know what you are going to see when you get down there.

The filming took place as a part of the Hadeep project; a collaboration between the Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen and the Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo. The aim of the project, which is funded by the Nippon Foundation and the Natural Environment Research Council, is to find out more about life in the very deepest parts of the world’s oceans.

Just like the unfortunate Abyssobrotula galatheae, deep sea fishes tend to be in a sad state when researchers examine them at the surface and this is one of the reasons why a film is such great news for anyone interested in learning more about what’s going on at these vast depts.

According to Professor Monty Priede, also from the University of Aberdeen, the team was surprised by the fish’s behaviour. “We certainly thought, deep down, fish would be relatively inactive, saving energy as much as possible, and so on,” says Priede. “But when you see the video, the fish are rushing around, feeding accurately, snapping at prey coming past.“

Oceanographers normally divide the deep sea into three different depth zones:

• The Bathyal, which is located between 1,000 and 3,000 m (3,000 and 10,000 ft)
• The Abyss, which is located between 3,000 and 6,000 m (10,000 and 20,000 ft)
• The Hadal, which is located between 6,000 and 11,000 m (20,000 and 36,000 ft)

The Hadeep project has been looking at the creatures inhabiting the Hadal zone, which consists of comparatively narrow trenches in the wide abyss. In this environment there is no light and the pressure is immense. The food supply is also very limited, since photosynthesising organisms can not survive and most other creatures stay away as well. The animals living in the Hadal zone must therefore rely on food sinking down to them from more fruitful waters above.

In order to cope with pressure, Hadal dwellers display numerous physiological modifications, primarily at the molecular level. They have also developed various ways of dealing with the constant night and Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis is for instance equipped with vibration receptors on its snout which comes in handy when the fish navigates through the darkness and searches for food.

Dr Alan Jamieson now hopes that the Japan-UK team will find more fish during their next expedition down into the Haldal zone, which is planned to take place in March 2009 and aims to venture as far down as 9,000 m (30,000 ft).”Nobody has really been able to look at these depths before – I think we will see some fish living much deeper,” says Jamieson, whose deep-sea blog from the expedition can be found at Planet Earth Online.

You can also read more about this story over at deep sea news, a great blog if you want to keep up to date on deep sea discoveries.

Born in the Netherlands in 1947, Marc van Roosmalen is a Brazilian primatologist of Dutch birth living in Manaus, Brazil. After studying biology at the University of Amsterdam he did four years of doctoral fieldwork in Suriname studying the Red-faced Spider Monkey. Since then, van Roosmalen has devoted his life to the scientific exploration of the South American flora and fauna.

Marc van Roosmalen is described as a hand-on naturalist and has spent long periods of time doing research work in the Amazonian rainforest, while simultaneously producing prolific amounts of scientific papers, books, reviews, and wildlife documentaries. His work has led to the discovery and description of several new species, such as Callibella humilis, the dwarf marmoset, the second smallest monkey in the world, and Lecythis oldemani, a tree belonging to the Brazil Nut family. From 1986 to 2003, van Roosmalen served as senior scientist at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) under the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology.

Parallel to his research work, van Roosmalen is a dedicated conservationalist trying to protect the Brazilian rainforest from destruction by humans. During the late 1980s, he launched “The Center for the Rehabilitation and Re-introduction of Endangered Wildlife” in the federal Rio Cuieiras Nature Reserve; a centre where all kinds of animals, but especially monkeys confiscated from the illegal pet trade, were rehabilitated in the local rain forest. In 1999, he founded the NGO “Amazon Association for the Preservation of High Biodiversity Areas” (AAPA) and began purchasing areas of pristine rainforest in regions harboring extremely high biodiversity and/or animals and plants new to science.

For his outstanding work in South America, van Roosmalen has received several honors and was knighted as Officer in the Order of the Golden Ark by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1997. At the turn of the millennium, van Roosmalen was selected as one of the worldwide recognized “Heroes for the Planet” by Time Magazine.

You can read about van Roosmalen’s current predicament in our interview with him which is found here. More information can also be found in this Wired article and this article published by the Smithsonian institution.

“For if there are out there big tree-dwelling, ground-dwelling and even aquatic mammals not known to science – a dwarf tapir, a giant peccary, a white deer, a dwarf manatee, another river dolphin, to name a few – what do we really know about its flora and fauna? Very Little. About its ecology – the utterly complex web of relationships between plants and animals? Even less. Then what do we know about the sustainability of this ecosystem? Absolutely nothing.”

– Marc van Roosmalen