What is the humphead wrasse?
- The Humpback wrasse is one of the largest species of fish in the world.
- He is can grow to a length of 2 meters and can weigh up to 190 kg!
- He is live in the Indo-Pacific: Red sea to South Africa, and to the Tuamotu Islands.
- His scientific name is Cheilinus undulatus and is under the kindom Anamalia, the Phylum chordata, the class Actinopterygii, the order Perciformes, and the family Labridae
- He is important to the ecosystem because he is one of the only species of fish that eats the crown-of-thorns starfish.
- These starfishes dig up and kill coral which can be detremental if left uneaten by dying wrasses
- The humhead wrasses are endangered, however and can not eat these starfishes en masse
The Humphead Wrasse's Adaptations
- The humphead wrasse has not changed much from prehistoric times except for becoming marginally smaller
- Some adaptions:
- Their mouth resembles a parrot's beak which allows the wrasse to feed on hard-shelled organisms such as crustaceans, echinoderms, and mollusks
- Humphead wrasse are also able to change their gender. Although scientists are not knowledgeable about what triggers this sex change, it could potentially be an adaptation as it can be used to this species's advantage.
- Lastly, humphead wrasse are known to dwell amongst coral beds during the day. This adaptation not only allows them to keep their habitat intact, but they are also keeping the coral alive since starfish do not have many other predators due to their toxicity.
What Factors are Threatening the Wrasse?
Slow Recovery
Habitat Destruction
Overfishing
Poaching
Conservation Efforts
Many organizations around the world have identified coral reefs as a threatened entity in our oceans. Their efforts in saving these reefs will potentially save many species, including the Wrasse, from drawing closer to extinction.
In 2007, the Center filed petition Humphead wrasse to the Endangered Species Act, thereby exempting it from commercial fishing.
Organisations such as WCS Fiji are closely monitoring sighting of the fish in order to fully understand their distribution. Organizations are also trying to encourage fishers to release this fish if it it below a certain size. Sadly though, governments are currently not banning the catching of this fish, but as mentioned earlier in the presentation, governments are putting restrictions on catching the Humphead Wrasse.
Our thoughts on current conservation efforts
Overall there is not a lot of conservation efforts in place to fully prevent the fishing in of the Humphead Wrasse. In order to really save the species, the first step should be to add it to the Endangered Species Act. It has the endangered status, so numbers are low enough for the fish to qualify to be added to that act. If this happens, all fishing of this fish in any quantities would be prohibited, and offenders would be prosecuted. If this positive step happens, the fish would most likely be able to have the number increase instead of decrease, but if it does not, then the numbers would continue to decrease.
he looks so sad :(
Sources
Natural History:
https://www.fishbase.de/summary/Cheilinus-undulatus
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/humphead-wrasse
http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2962
https://deanda2hw.weebly.com/evolution.html
Current Status:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4592/11023949#conservation-actions
http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/endangered-species/humphead-wrasse/
http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2962
Risk Factors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphead_wrasse
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/fish/humphead_wrasse/index.html
https://fiji.wcs.org/Wildlife/Humphead-Wrasse.aspx
Current Conservation Efforts:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4592/11023949#conservation-actions
https://www.aqua.org/Experience/Animal-Index/humphead-wrasse
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/fish/humphead_wrasse/index.html
