I'm actually on vacation this week, but I couldn't resist sharing this small search challenge with you.
A bunch of my dive buddies and I are in Bonaire, spending 3 to 4 hours a day diving in the 82F, ultra-clear, full-of-life seas around the island.
When you dive, you're constantly seeing things that you don't know, and consequently, spending a fair bit of time searching for answers to "what kind of fish was that?" or "what IS that strange thing we found that looks like a snake, but has gills?"
Here's a fairly easy question for you that should build your repertory of search skills a bit. We've had challenges in this style before, but never quite so tropical!
This is a fish you see everywhere around Bonaire (and most of the Caribbean as well). I shot this picture yesterday afternoon at a depth of 30 feet (10 m). This fish is about 2 feet long (0.6 m) from tail-tip to nose. This is a very typical pose.
Our challenges for today are:
1. What kind of fish is this? (Looking for both the common name and the Latin scientific name.)
2. What contribution does this fish make to the geology of the island? (That's not a typo: this fish is important in making the island what it is. Can you find out what/why/how?)
As usual, please let us know the answer, HOW you found the answer, and how long it took you to search it out.
I'm heading to go diving now. Answers tomorrow!
Search on!
A bunch of my dive buddies and I are in Bonaire, spending 3 to 4 hours a day diving in the 82F, ultra-clear, full-of-life seas around the island.
When you dive, you're constantly seeing things that you don't know, and consequently, spending a fair bit of time searching for answers to "what kind of fish was that?" or "what IS that strange thing we found that looks like a snake, but has gills?"
Here's a fairly easy question for you that should build your repertory of search skills a bit. We've had challenges in this style before, but never quite so tropical!
This is a fish you see everywhere around Bonaire (and most of the Caribbean as well). I shot this picture yesterday afternoon at a depth of 30 feet (10 m). This fish is about 2 feet long (0.6 m) from tail-tip to nose. This is a very typical pose.
Our challenges for today are:
1. What kind of fish is this? (Looking for both the common name and the Latin scientific name.)
2. What contribution does this fish make to the geology of the island? (That's not a typo: this fish is important in making the island what it is. Can you find out what/why/how?)
As usual, please let us know the answer, HOW you found the answer, and how long it took you to search it out.
I'm heading to go diving now. Answers tomorrow!
Search on!
Chrome now offers a great contextual menu option to search Google for this image. I right clicked and searched by image. I then added [fish bonaire] as descriptors.
ReplyDeleteI found a Quizlet for Most Common Fish Bonaire http://quizlet.com/9908222/most-common-fish-bonaire-flash-cards/
1. Stoplight Parrotfish - Scientific name: Sparisoma viride
Search [ parrotfish geology ] gave me a link to Parrotfish Makes Sand http://www.sandatlas.org/2011/11/parrotfish-makes-sand/
Search [ parrotfish sand ] took me to the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrotfish
"They are found in coral reefs, rocky coasts and seagrass beds, and play a significant role in bioerosion."
"After they digest the rock, they excrete it as sand, helping to create small islands and the sandy beaches of the Caribbean. One parrotfish can produce 90 kilograms (200 lb) of sand each year."
2. People can enjoying knowing that those nice sandy beaches they enjoy walking barefoot on is parrotfish poop. :-)
1:
ReplyDeleteStoplight parrotfish
Sparisoma viride
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoplight_parrotfish
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Sparrotfish/SParrotfish.html
Google search [most common fish bonaire] => http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151335/
2:
The beaches of Bonaire are made of parrotfish poop; one parrot fish can produce a ton of white sand every year!!
From http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Sparrotfish/SParrotfish.html :
These herbivorous reef fish graze on corals and algae growing on the surfaces of rocks throughout the reef. The strong beak-like fused teeth are used to bite off pieces of stony corals. It is not the hard coral skeleton that provides nourishment, but rather the coral polyps that grow on the surface of this skeleton. Coral skeletal material that is ingested by the parrotfish is crushed by the grinding motion of the pharyngeal mill, specialized teeth located in the throat. Afterwards, it makes its way through the fish's digestive system and deposited on the reef as white coral sand. Parrotfish are known to return to the same area to release their waste products, forming hills of white sand. Parrotfish may produce as much as one ton of coral sand per acre of reef each year.
http://paradise.docastaway.com/white-sand-beaches-parrot-fish-poop-feaces/
Also interesting: The Stoplight parrotfish is a sex-changing fish:
The Fish That Does It All: Cleaning Coral, Making White Sand And Even Changing Gender!
http://wild.enature.com/blog/the-fish-that-does-it-all-changing-colors-shape-and-even-gender
(5 minutes)
Search: Bonaire tropical fish in images. Found it on the second page.
ReplyDeleteQUeen Parrotfish, Scarus vetula
Linked to this: http://reefguide.org/queenparrot.html
From here I searched Scarus vetula reef, since it seemed they had a reef habitat, and found this: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Scarus_vetula/
"Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Scarus vetula are a large contributor to the production of sand through their digestion of corals. They are also believed to be a major reef attraction (Wheeler, 1975).
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Scarus vetula have become one of the most important biological factors in the erosion of coral reefs. They also effect the distribution and abundance of Caribbean sponges by feeding on them (Dunlap, 1998). The decrease of coral reefs and sponges have caused a decrease in the tourist industry's revenues (Wheeler, 1975)."
The search took about 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI did an image search and found the fish on the following site:
http://www.frankosmaps.com/Bonaire_Fish_Card/Bonaire_Fish_Card_Side2.jpg
Stoplight parrot fish
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scaridae
Genus: Sparisoma
Species: viride
Then I did a regular web search for the common name and found this is from the Florida Museum of Natural History:
Food Habits
These herbivorous reef fish graze on corals and algae growing on the surfaces of rocks throughout the reef. The strong beak-like fused teeth are used to bite off pieces of stony corals. It is not the hard coral skeleton that provides nourishment, but rather the coral polyps that grow on the surface of this skeleton. Living within these coral polyps are symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae. Coral skeletal material that is ingested by the parrotfish is crushed by the grinding motion of the pharyngeal mill, specialized teeth located in the throat. Afterwards, it makes its way through the fish's digestive system and deposited on the reef as white coral sand. Parrotfish are known to return to the same area to release their waste products, forming hills of white sand. Parrotfish may produce as much as one ton of coral sand per acre of reef each year.
1. What kind of fish is this? (Looking for both the common name and the Latin scientific name.)
ReplyDeleteThis is a Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride). First I did an image search with no luck. Then I searched images for
[common bonaire fish]
I immediately found this: http://quizlet.com/9908222/most-common-fish-bonaire-flash-cards/ The fish are identical.
Once I had the common name, it was a simple matter to google
[stoplight parrotfish]
The Wikipedia page at the top of the results list had the Latin name.
Total time: 2 minutes
2. What contribution does this fish make to the geology of the island? (That's not a typo: this fish is important in making the island what it is. Can you find out what/why/how?)
To answer this question, I searched a number of things with no luck:
[“stoplight parrotfish” bonaire geology]
[“Sparisoma viride” bonaire geology]
[parrotfish effect bonaire geology]
I finally hit on
[parrotfish contribute to sandy beaches] (sandy beaches was supplied by auto fill)
This gave me numerous results that gave the answer:
Stoplight parrotfish are essential to island geology because they poop sand!
Again, from a Wikipedia entry on “Parrotfish”:
“Although they are considered to be herbivores, parrotfish eat a wide variety of reef organisms, and they are not necessarily vegetarian. Species such as the green humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) include coral (polyps) in their diet.[6]Their feeding activity is important for the production and distribution of coral sands in the reef biome, and can prevent algae from choking coral. The teeth grow continuously, replacing material worn away by feeding.[11] The pharyngeal teeth grind up the coral and coralline algae[12] the fish ingest during feeding. After they digest the rock, they excrete it as sand, helping to create small islands and the sandy beaches of the Caribbean. One parrotfish can produce 90 kilograms (200 lb) of sand each year.[13]”
So there you have it.
Total time: 5 minutes
Sparisoma viride - stoplight parrotfish - terminal phase - aka dark green parrotfish
ReplyDeleteParrotfish "clean" the coral and digestively produce up to 200 pounds of sand a year which helps fill the spaces between tourist's toes.
25
not princess or queen
juvenile/non-terminal difference
Sharptailed Eel in search of snappers?
sharptail
parrots & eels
sand production
…had to look Bonaire up first - the wifi must be good -
Bonaire summary
zoeken op, duik naar beneden!
Good day, Dr. Russell, fellow SearchResearchers
ReplyDeleteSearched:
[Bonaire]
[Bonaire fish identification]
http://dipndive.com/trident-franko-bonaire-fish-i-d-card.html
http://dipndive.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/600x600/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/o/bonaire_fish_card_side2_zoom_resize.jpg
[Rainbow parrotfish]
Found:
Facts and information: http://www.arkive.org/rainbow-parrotfish/scarus-guacamaia/image-G133700.html
Information: http://www.earthsendangered.com/profile-12922.html
[Rainbow parrotfish geology contribution bonaire]
[parrot fish AROUND(4) BONAIRE] in books
http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=5WfJyrofxHUC&lpg=PA13&dq=parrot%20fish%20AROUND(4)%20BONAIRE&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q=parrotfish%20&f=false
[parrot fish AROUND(4) BONAIRE]
http://www.bonairetalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-72011.html
[parrotfish contribute to sandy beaches]
http://ambergrisdivers.com/parrot-fish/
http://wild.enature.com/blog/the-fish-that-does-it-all-changing-colors-shape-and-even-gender
Answwers
1. What kind of fish is this? (Looking for both the common name and the Latin scientific name.)
A: The largest herbivorous fish.
Scarus guacamaia: Rainbow Parrotfish
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Perciformes
Family Scaridae
Genus Scarus
2. What contribution does this fish make to the geology of the island? (That's not a typo: this fish is important in making the island what it is. Can you find out what/why/how?)
A: They Scrap algae off the substrate. This action cleans the substrate and prepares it for coral colonization and thus increasing reef resilience. Source: Coral Reef Resilience Assessment of the Bonaire National Marine Park, Netherlands Antilles.
Also, they eat bad algae wich balances ecosystem. Finally, with their teeth they grind coral rock that they ingested, after that excrete the rock as sand creating small islands and beaches.
How long? It is always hard to measure it because I read a lot and keep searching.
Enjoy your trip, Dr. Russell!!
1. What kind of fish is this? (Looking for both the common name and the Latin scientific name.) Stoplight Parrotfish AKA Sparisoma viride
ReplyDeleteThis was easy SEARCH for [catalog caribbean fish] that I thought would produce a learned catalog. MAybe it does. But what I found right off the were posters of fish. There on the first poster I looked at was our chap down in the right corner. IMAGES shows lots of this fish. IMAGES with [parrotfish] found lots more good stuff. Wikipedia outlined his common and scientific name. This guy is in the terminal phase of sex change from female. http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=FI0132 confirms WIkipedia
http://tasty-dishes.com/encyclopedia/fish/parrotfish.html has cooking suggestions. Did you eat yours ?
2. What contribution does this fish make to the geology of the island? (That's not a typo: this fish is important in making the island what it is. Can you find out what/why/how?)
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/parrot-fish/ which turned under SEARCH [parrot fish] tells us "There’s its diet, which consists primarily of algae extracted from chunks of coral ripped from a reef. The coral is pulverized with grinding teeth in the fishes’ throats in order to get to the algae-filled polyps inside. Much of the sand in the parrot fish's range is actually the ground-up, undigested coral they excrete." This answers the 3 questions you posed
SEARCH [parrot fish geology] found lots more confirmation such this from http://wild.enature.com/blog/the-fish-that-does-it-all-changing-colors-shape-and-even-gender
...." Turns out that most white sand beaches in the tropics come from the poop of parrotfish and their peers! A study in Bermuda estimated that parrotfish create a ton of sand per acre of coral reef per year. Those swimmers over coral reefs have discovered that when parrotfish feed, the noise of their teeth scraping rock is easily heard."
Happy Hols
jon
But wait...I found more
ReplyDeletehttp://earthjustice.org/slideshows/ourwork/protecting-endangered-caribbean-corals#/sites/default/files/coral-stoplight-parrotfish_.jpg " Excessive algal growth is threatening the health of Caribbean reefs, choking out corals and degrading the habitat that other reef creatures—such as fish, sea turtles and lobsters—depend on. Fish, especially parrotfish, which graze on algae around coral reefs, play a key function in providing suitable habitat for corals to settle and build those reefs."
jon spent about 5 minutes on this curious creature
Image upload = Spotlight Parrotfish - 2 minutes
ReplyDeleteConfirmation and Information Query [caribbean fish tropical bonaire]
Answer #1
*Stoplight Parrotfish Links #1. *Sparisoma viride
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. Bright yellow spot at upper corner of gill cover. 2. Yellow area at base of tail. 3. Salmon to yellow crescent on tail.DESCRIPTION:Emerald green. Salmon to yellow markings on head and fins. Tail is crescent-shaped.
Answer #2 White Sand = Parrotfish excrement (lovely thought)
Geological Contribution Link #3 Link#4
Parrotfish feed primarily on algae and corals. They use strong beak-like teeth to scrape algae off of rocks and dead coral and also to bite off pieces of the hard living corals. The living coral polyps contain symbiotic algae known as zooxanthellae that provide the fish with nutrients. After a parrotfish ingests a piece of hard coral, it moves it to the back of the mouth to a specialized pharyngeal mill where the ratchet action of the pharyngeal teeth pulverizes it for digestion. Once the nutrients are removed from the coral, it is excreted back into the reef environment as fine white sand. Depending on its size, an individual parrotfish may produce up to a ton of sand per year.
Since this was so quick here are some interesting facts I learned along the way...
Another advantage is gained through this type of reproduction. In parrotfish populations, the large supermales, large males that were once female, are dominant. They claim most of the females, and the primary males often spawn in groups with one female (Warner, 1988). Starting out as a female and then changing sex later in their life histories is very advantageous. The females have no trouble finding mates no matter how large they are, while the males are much more reproductively successful as larger individuals (Warner, 1982). This lets the fish have a very successful life. They can reproduce as females when they are younger, and then when they grow to a large enough size to compete as males they change sex and reproduce as supermales.
Parrotfish are not a popular food in the United States except in Hawaii. In Hawaii, they were at one time very valuable. They were only to be touched by royalty. However, now they are eaten by everyone in Hawaii. As a food, they can sometimes cause nervous reactions to occur in humans that can even be fatal to a low percentage of consumers.
Google Define ichthyology - Noun- The branch of zoology that deals with fishes.
I thought it might be interesting to learn more about the coral and found a link to how and when corals spawn. Link#5
If interested, have a look at this link. In fact they have a pdf showing anticipated times for viewing this activity along with other sea life adventures happening. It sounds really interesting and I hope you have a chance to experience this event Dr. Dan. Looks like a night dive might be worthwhile but you'll have to be lucky based on predictions shown. Link #6
Link #1 http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Sparrotfish/SParrotfish.html
Link #2 http://www.reefnews.com/reefnews/photos/slparrt1.html
Link # 3 http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/fieldcourses03/PapersMarineEcologyArticles/StoplightParrotfish.html
Link #4 http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/parrot-fish/
Link #5 http://www.tourismbonaire.com/en/over-bonaire/multimedia-gallery/spawning-coral-and-sponges
Link #6 http://www.bmp.org/coralspawning.html
Time Spent 10 minutes plus bonus 30 minutes
I started with an image search and found nothing relevant, then added words "fish", "coral", and "caribbean". That got me to http://www.reef.org/resources/galleries/caribbean
ReplyDeleteand on the second page I saw a promising hit:
Stoplight Parrotfish
Sparisoma viride
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: 1. Bright yellow spot at upper corner of gill cover. 2. Yellow area at base of tail. 3. Salmon to yellow crescent on tail.
DESCRIPTION:
Emerald green. Salmon to yellow markings on head and fins. Tail is crescent-shaped.
The picture seems to have the distinctive markings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrotfish#Feeding
explains that parrotfish grind up coral producing the sand that makes Caribbean beaches.
Took about 5 minutes.
Searching found new information about Parrotfish looking for differences between Stoplight and Rainbow species.
ReplyDeletea. A unique feature of all parrotfish is their method of swimming. They use the pectoral fins located behind the gills for propulsion unlike most other fish which rely on their caudal or tail fins. Source
b. Parrotfishes
c. Some male parrot fish maintain harems of females. If the dominant male dies, one of the females will change gender and color and become the dominant male.
d. Pajamas: Every night, certain species of parrot fish envelope themselves in a transparent cocoon made of mucous secreted from an organ on their head. Scientists think the cocoon masks their scent, making them harder for nocturnal predators, like moray eels, to find.
Source for C and D: Fast Facts NatGeo
There are many images of these fishes. I believe it is "Rainbow" even when most answers shows "Stoplight"
ciguatera
ReplyDeleteFL info
food for thought:
Mataiti
other things that could affect your nervous system as you Jules Verne the ABC waters — any chance of a soggy ground truth, first person pic or two of the Hilma Hooker? maybe even with a Stoplight in frame? Interesting things have occurred in those areas - most of it non-gogglable… a sampling of some that is:
HH
HH 1984
U-156
ghost of Hartenstein
Bonaire, almost 3 years ago to the day
fwiw, still don't understand what diva buddies have to do with Parrotfish - of any variety…
a different B parrot -
Yellow
saw multiple divers here, any chance your group was on camera? -
cool dive cam
am curious - are you seeing Lions in large numbers?
ReplyDeleteinvasive
Not too many Lionfish, luckily. Maybe 1 or 2 / dive. Unlike Belize (last year's trip), which has a huge problem with the Lionfish invasion. (We were seeing 6 - 12 / dive.)
ReplyDeleteTook me about 10 minutes to complete this search.
ReplyDelete* Started with an image search of said fish. Added the searchterms Bonaire fish to the query and looked for images that were visualy similar.
* Found a pic that were sort of alike (could be a fish in the same family). The pic linked to its website reefguide.org. Sounds promising - lets check it out.
* Lucky me - its a site with lots of good pictures. Lets browse
*The picture that initialy brought me here is a Queen parrotfish so I start to browse the parrotfish directory. I soon find a match in apperance that is called "Stoplight parrotfish".
* My next step is to do a wikipedia search for both that specific species and parrotfish in general.
Answer 1: It is a Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride)
Answer 2: It mostly feeds on coralline algae and coral. The coral turns into sand as it is pooped out and therefore the fish both produces and distributs sand and prevents algea from choking coral.
It is a Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride). From http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Sparrotfish/SParrotfish.html
ReplyDeleteTaxonomy
There are only 80 members in the family Scaridae, although earlier biologists identified over 350 species. The confusion resulted from the various color phases of each parrotfish.
Bonnaterre originally named this parrotfish Scarus viridis in 1788. He renamed it Sparisoma viride later that year. The genus name is derived from the Latin "sparus" = a fish with a golden head and the Greek "soma" = body. The species name viridis is Latin for green. One synonym used to refer to the stoplight parrotfish is Sparisoma albigaardi Bloch 1791. This name was used to describe the gray-red phase of the young adults that was thought to be a separate species. Another synonym is Scarus frondosus Agassiz 1829.
Common Names
Common english names for S. viride include: stoplight parrotfish, dark green parrotfish, moontail, parrot chub, and red belly. Other language common names include jabon (Spanish), loro (Spanish), loro colorado (Spanish), loro verde (Spanish), loro viejo (Spanish), perroquetfeu (French), and sparysoma szmaragdowa (Polish). The common name "parrotfish" refers to the teeth's resemblance to the beak of these tropical birds.
How it helps build the islands:
· Food Habits
These herbivorous reef fish graze on corals and algae growing on the surfaces of rocks throughout the reef. The strong beak-like fused teeth are used to bite off pieces of stony corals. It is not the hard coral skeleton that provides nourishment, but rather the coral polyps that grow on the surface of this skeleton. Living within these coral polyps are symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae. Coral skeletal material that is ingested by the parrotfish is crushed by the grinding motion of the pharyngeal mill, specialized teeth located in the throat. Afterwards, it makes its way through the fish's digestive system and deposited on the reef as white coral sand. Parrotfish are known to return to the same area to release their waste products, forming hills of white sand. Parrotfish may produce as much as one ton of coral sand per acre of reef each year.
I used Google Images with Daniel's photograph and the description "caribbean fish". I selected the link: http://www.oceanlight.com/fish.html and searched in the page for "caribbean". With only 13 items, it was a quick search to find the most likely candidate: "Sparisoma viride
Stoplight parrotfish
Range: Western Atlantic: southern Florida (USA), Bermuda, Bahamas, and throughout the Caribbean Sea to Brazil"
A Google Web search on "Stoplight Parrotfish" gave me confirming images. the usual Google information box to the right of the search results provided more confirmation. Finally, I selected the link to http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Sparrotfish/SParrotfish.html, where detailed information could be found.
The search took about 2-3 minutes.
I had an "unfair" advantage - I was diving in Bonaire in the early '80's, so immediately recognized it as a Parrotfish (though didn't know the rest of its name till I read it above).
ReplyDeleteThe biologist professor (from U of T) leading our dive group told us that he had an post-doc who spent a year following parrotfish around with a bucket to catch their "poop".
FWIW - this is the first question I've been able to answer from personal knowledge. Wish I could join you on Bonaire now :-)
After spending almost all day Friday following around parrotfish, it's clear that this poor grad student was given an impossible task. There's NO WAY you could chase around a fish and catch what it poops out. (1) They're really fast. (2) The poop comes out at unexpected times. (3) Swimming with a bucket?? Have you ever tried that?? Impossible. (4) When the poop hits the water, it disperses rather rapidly. I don't see how you'd do that.
DeleteMuch simpler idea: Put a parrotfish in a tank. Measure the bites and excretions that way.
I think the biologist was pulling your leg big-time!