New England Aquarium Breeds Rare Fish
Sept 8, 2009BOSTON (September 8, 2009) – Scientists from the New England Aquarium and Rogers Williams University have reared the world's first-ever triggerfish in captivity. Working together this summer, the researchers were able to bring queen triggerfish eggs from the Aquarium's popular Giant Ocean Tank exhibit to the University's Ornamental Fish Laboratory to produce the first offspring. The queen triggerfish is listed as a threatened species.
A pair of queen triggerfish that regularly nest inside the Aquarium's Bahamian coral reef laid eggs amid the 125 species of aquatic life living in the Aquarium's main 250,000-gallon exhibit. The eggs were removed by researcher Dan Laughlin from the nest and transported to the University in Bristol, R.I.
The New England Aquarium and Roger Williams University (RWU) established a formal research and teaching affiliation in 2008, offering a new minor degree in Aquarium Science and Aquaculture. The Aquarium's Dr. Michael Tlusty and RWU's Dr. Andrew Rhyne are investigating ways to expand their research together on marine ornamental fish. It is considered critical that successful aquaculture methods be developed to rear these fish as they are important in the food and aquarium industries. In the hobby trade, triggerfish are worth upwards of $500 each.
Queen triggerfish are oval-shaped, brightly-colored large fish that can grow up to three feet long. They come from the tropical Atlantic and Indian oceans and can lay up to 750,000 eggs which hatch within 36 hours of being laid. The small larvae are difficult to feed, but, Dr. Rhyne success is in large part due to his research culturing copepods, the critical live food for marine fish larvae, and feeding them to the queen triggerfish larvae. Dr. Rhyne was assisted by his colleague, Mr. Bradford Bourque, and two RWU seniors Lisa Bourassa and Leah Freedman. The group has been reconfiguring the University Ornamental Fish Program to focus on the minor degree and collaboration with the Aquarium.
"The queen triggerfish have been an iconic member of the Aquarium exhibit since its inception," Dr. Tlusty wrote about their work, "in part because of their size and coloration, but also because of their willingness to demonstrate reproductive activity and nesting." He said queen triggerfish have produced viable eggs since the early days of the Aquarium. They are proven egg layers who continue to build nests and lay eggs, often every 18 to 20 days. However, until last year, all rearing efforts failed, he said, until they began their partnership with Rogers Williams University.
Triggerfish are popular in the marine aquarium trade with more than 17 species sold in the U.S. The queen triggerfish, Balistes vetula, is one species taken both for food and for trade by hobbyists, and still has a significantly greater value as an ornamental fish than as a food fish. The grey triggerfish species is harvested commercially in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and in the Gulf of Mexico, but is threatened by overfishing. There are about 30 species of triggerfish. The International Union of Concerned Nations lists queen triggerfish as threatened.
About the NEAq
The New England Aquarium is recognized as an international leader in ocean conservation, education, and research. Each year, the NEAq acts as an educational resource for more than 130,000 school children and thousands of teachers throughout New England. Together, the educational, research and conservation work of the NEAq is cultivating widespread public awareness about the benefits of living a "Blue Lifestyle," which promotes greater individual responsibility in improving the health of the oceans and the earth. For more information, visit www.neaq.org.
About Rogers Williams University
Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News and World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.
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