405
Y. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.L. Colin (eds.), Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations:
Biology, Research and Management, Fish & Fisheries Series 35,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1980-4_12, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
12.1 Introduction
Reef fi shes that aggregate to spawn, even those considered to be threatened or
to have commercial importance, are typically little studied. Information on their biology and ecology is often widely scattered in the published and unpublished literature, and many species remain little understood. Yet, the foundation for both good
species- and ecosystem-level management rests on an understanding of life history,
including in relation to the aggregation-forming habit and the fi sheries that species
of interest form. The testing of hypotheses, such as the why and how of aggregation
formation, also requires an understanding of biology. The wide taxonomic range of
species that are confi rmed as aggregation spawners (Appendix ) is refl ected in the
diversity of aggregation strategies they exhibit and, along with the social context of their
fi shery, determines what conservation approaches are advisable, monitoring methods
required and the importance of aggregation versus non-aggregation exploitation.
Case studies of the aggregation, reproduction as well as other basic life history
attributes of the better-studied aggregating reef fi shes are provided in this chapter
with additional detailed information not included in the earlier chapters, as well
as useful background material on the species in general. The 23 species highlighted, in addition to notes on a few others, range in size from small bluehead
wrasse, Thalassoma bifasciatum , to large humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus ,
and are variously found globally throughout the tropics and sub-tropics. Some
species are exploited, some are not, while a few are considered to be threatened
and in urgent need of management. Several studies cover previously unpublished
accounts of individual research projects on a single or small group of fi shes (longnose parrotfi sh, Hipposcarus longiceps ; blacktail snapper, Lutjanus fulvus ).
Others attempt to summarize knowledge of a species for which there is already
a relatively large body of work (red hind, Epinephelus guttatus ; Nassau grouper,
E. striatus ; leopard coralgrouper, Plectropomus leopardus ), although even in such
Chapter 12
Species Case Studies
Y. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.L. Colin (eds.), Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations:
Biology, Research and Management, Fish & Fisheries Series 35,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1980-4_12, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
12.1 Introduction
Reef fi shes that aggregate to spawn, even those considered to be threatened or
to have commercial importance, are typically little studied. Information on their biology and ecology is often widely scattered in the published and unpublished literature, and many species remain little understood. Yet, the foundation for both good
species- and ecosystem-level management rests on an understanding of life history,
including in relation to the aggregation-forming habit and the fi sheries that species
of interest form. The testing of hypotheses, such as the why and how of aggregation
formation, also requires an understanding of biology. The wide taxonomic range of
species that are confi rmed as aggregation spawners (Appendix ) is refl ected in the
diversity of aggregation strategies they exhibit and, along with the social context of their
fi shery, determines what conservation approaches are advisable, monitoring methods
required and the importance of aggregation versus non-aggregation exploitation.
Case studies of the aggregation, reproduction as well as other basic life history
attributes of the better-studied aggregating reef fi shes are provided in this chapter
with additional detailed information not included in the earlier chapters, as well
as useful background material on the species in general. The 23 species highlighted, in addition to notes on a few others, range in size from small bluehead
wrasse, Thalassoma bifasciatum , to large humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus ,
and are variously found globally throughout the tropics and sub-tropics. Some
species are exploited, some are not, while a few are considered to be threatened
and in urgent need of management. Several studies cover previously unpublished
accounts of individual research projects on a single or small group of fi shes (longnose parrotfi sh, Hipposcarus longiceps ; blacktail snapper, Lutjanus fulvus ).
Others attempt to summarize knowledge of a species for which there is already
a relatively large body of work (red hind, Epinephelus guttatus ; Nassau grouper,
E. striatus ; leopard coralgrouper, Plectropomus leopardus ), although even in such
Chapter 12
Species Case Studies