Alien fish species

Photos by Google Images

Do you have know about alien or exotic species?
Alien or exotic species are non native species that could be animals, plants or other organism which may cause several damages into the ecosystems and became a plague harming the economy and affecting the human health.
In marine ecosystems many species of invertebrates, fishes and algae could be non native and the human activities as aquarium trade, ballast water and others have brought these non native species.
One example of most recent alien among reef fishes is the lion fish from Family Scorpaenidae (e.g. Pterois volitans) in Caribbean sea. This alien reef fish was registered in Atlantic Ocean in 1985 near Dania Florida. Also the lion fish invasion was record in a accidental realize of some lion fish from aquarium during Hurricane Andrew, Walter Courtney that was quoted in 2010 where was saying he would like to "put this idea to rest".
Today this invasive species is dominating most of reefs of Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean sea and Gulf of Mexico with some records for South Atlantic. The main problem of this beautiful and dangerous species for Atlantic ocean is that this fish has a great capacity of reproduction, is a top predator of fishes and invertebrates and don't have predator for this species. The biological strategies of this invasive species have caused several damages to reef ecosystems reducing coral cover and native reef fishes.

To know more about the invasion of lion fish in marine ecosystems click on the links bellow and enjoy!

NOOA

Lionfish Invasion & Population Explosion in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico

Lionfish invasion is threatening the Atlantic Ocean

Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitansreduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes

Possible solution to marine debris

Photos by Google Images

Is possible reduce the marine debris into the oceans?
Many species of marine birds, turtles, marine mammals and other marine organisms could mistake plastic debris with food and die in few days. Some younglets of marine birds also could affect by plastic debris in a single moment when their mothers take the food by her throat. So if this food contain any kind of plastic debris, this indefensible younglet  could die in hours. Another examples of plastic debris occur with marine turtles who confuse their preferential food with plastic debris floating and have showed several deaths around coastline of the oceans.
Recently, a young ducth of only 19 years old, Boyan Slat, create one of the possible solutions to reduce the marine debris, mainly plastic debris, into the oceans. He proposed a solution to clean half of the Pacific Ocean in 10 years. The project's Slat consist in a floating barrier which take advantage of oceanic currents making a trench that blocks the debris floating in the waters.
To know more and contribute to this huge project click on the links bellow, read, watch and share!

Holandês de 19 anos cria sistema que promete limpar metade do Oceano Pacífico

Itinerant Exhibition of Ilhas do Rio - Brazil

This Itinerant Exhibition is wonderful! Click on the link bellow and enjoy!

Exposição Itinerante Projeto Ilhas do Rio

Initiatives to Climate Changes

Great Barrier - Austrália
Photo by Simone Marques

Worries about environmental global changes have been increase in last years and many research projects and studies have been done to understand their mean causes as well. Recently many non governmental international institutions are making hard works to create and execute actions not only to understand the causes of climate change but also to apply methods to keep save our oceans and their essencial resources for goods and services to humanity in these actual conditions.

To know more about some examples of great initiatives about projects and funds of climate changes to coastal ecosystems in Coral Triangle region click on the links bellow and enjoy!

http://www.ecoadapt.org

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/coraltriangle/

Effectiveness of marine protected area management

Marine Protected Area APA Costa dos Corais, Pernambuco, Brazil
Photo by Simone Marques

Do you know how Marine Protected Area (MPA) have been handling of form it accomplishes?

It's so important to know how the governments and environmental institutions made great and systematic  evaluations about effectiveness of management to make better the system of MPAs in the present and in the near future.

To know more about effectiveness of MPAs management, methods more used and the problems identified in their management click on the link bellow published by Leverington et al. (2010) and enjoy.

A Global Analysis of Protected Area Management Effectiveness

Relevance of herbivores fish in coral reefs

Parrotfish Sparisoma axillare from coast of Brazil - a herbivore fish
Photo by Simone Marques

Reef fishes use their habitats not only as refuge but mainly to find their preferential foods. Understand how they shift to foraging their food is essential for their connectivity between reefs and for the management actions for conservation as well. Recently a great article was written by Welsh & Bellwood to tell us how this feeding strategy works. Click in the link bellow to know more and enjoy!

Herbivorous fishes, ecosystem function and mobile links on coralreefs 

Effectiveness of Marine Protected Area (MPAs) by connectivity

Image by Google Images

Can you imagine how MPAs may effective to fishes communities? Many studies have showed that design of MPA and the connectivity are essential to define the effectiveness of MPA to reef fishes. Although the MPAs created in our oceans is not enough to protect the marine ecosystem to the human pressure the studies realized in this areas have presented an effectiveness in the connectivity for reef fishes species in a mosaic of MPA adjacents.
 Click on the video bellow to know more about the effectiveness of MPAs and the benefits to connect fish populations.

Reefs at risk by climate change

After post about global warming i found two interesting videos showing how climate change can lead the coral reefs at risk. The previsions of what's gone happy in the near future and after 50 years. Can you imagine our oceans without coral reefs and marine life? Click in the links bellow, enjoy and think about.

Diagram representing the stressors in coral reefs ecosystems - Photo extracted by google images

Coral Reefs & Climate Change

Photo extracted by google images

Resilience of Coral Reefs in Fiji

Marine Protected Area is a great tool to protect marine species

Coral Reefs in MPA Costa dos Corais - Brazil
Photo by Simone Marques

Since the huge advance of protected area around the world in last 20 years ago, scientists have studied how protected area have restored and keep save threatened species. In marine ecosystems most of marine protected areas (MPAs) are proposed to restored target species in fisheries and also most of them are classified as sustainable use. Although many studies show that MPAs of integral protection restored fished species (eg. fishes, invertebrates) some researchers who study the cycle life said this tool is not enough. Beyond the implementation of MPA is necessary selected essencial habitat for juvenile phase (nurseries) and adult phase (shallow to deep habitat) because many species needs estuaries, mangroves, shallow reefs, sea gram in their early life and deep reef or rock reef in adult phase. This two kinds of essencial habitat is also called connectivity. Actually the MPAs may design this essential habitat to protect all life cycle of species tho preserve and restore the connectivity of species. This new concept have been discuss in last years to better design the effectiveness of any kind of MPA. Now we don't thinking only to protect target and threatened species but their life cycle and essential habitat that they need.

Recent studies of MPAs have analyzed how MPAs have effective for marine species in the 2 main kinds of Protected Area (PA): sustainable use and integral protection. Click in two links bellow and read the recent papers related with MPAs of Brazil. Enjoy!

Analysis of Progress Towards a ComprehensiveSystem of Marine Protected Areas in Brazil 

Marine Protected Areas in Brazil: An ecological approach regarding the largemarine ecosystems