Bluestripe snapper
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| Bluestripe snapper | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Lutjanus kasmira Forsskål, 1775 |
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 Distribution of the bluestripe snapper
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The bluestripe snapper, Lutjanus kasmira, (also known as the bluestripe sea perch) is a common species of marine fish of the snapper family Lutjanidae. The bluestripe snapper is one of the most widespread of the snappers, occupying a range from the Red Sea south to Madagascar and east to India, Asia, Indonesia, Australia and a number of Pacific Islands including Hawaii. The species is not native to Hawaii, having been introduced in the 1950s to be used as a food and sport fish; a plan that failed. Concerns have since been raised on the long term effects of this new species on the Hawaiian native species and the marine ecology in general, as the bluestripe snapper has spread throughout the islands, becoming abundant in numbers.
The species is so named due to its distinctive colouration, which consists of a bright yellow body overlain by narrow horizontal electric blue stripes. The bluestripe snapper is primarily a reef dweller living in shallow coastal areas to reefs up to 265 m deep, consuming a range of fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. Often schooling while juveniles, the adults tend to be solitary and reach a maximum known length of 40 cm.
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[edit] Taxonomy
The bluestripe snapper is classified in the genus Lutjanus, which is part of the snapper family Lutjanidae. The Lutjanidae is further divided into four subfamilies, with the genus Lutjanus falling into the subfamily Lutjaninae. The Lutjanidae are Perciformes in the suborder Percoidei.[1]
The species was first scientifically described by Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål in 1775 under the name Sciaena kasmira, with the holotype specimen taken from "Arabia", possibly the Persian Gulf. Forsskål re examined the fish and determined that he had initially misassigned it, and put it in the genus Lutjanus, creating the new combination Lutjanus kasmira, which is still the valid name in use today.[2] After Forsskål, a number of naturalists tried to reclassify the species, with Cuvier applying Diacope octolineata , Lesson Mesoprion etaape and Bleeker applied Mesoprion pomacanthus to the species. These are all considered junior synonyms and therefore invalid under the ICZN naming rules.[3]
The common names of Lutjanus kasmira are descriptive in nature, with adjectives such as bluestripe, blue-banded and blouband commonly used in front of generic names such as 'snapper' and 'sea perch'. There are a large number of local names used for the species, with the wide range of the fish the cause of so many names.[3]
[edit] Description
The body of the bluestripe snapper is moderately deep in profile, with the dorsal profile of the head steeply sloped, having a well developed preopercular notch and knob. Identifying morphological features include the number of gill rakers on lower limb of the first arch, which number 13 or 14, with the total rakers on the first arch numbering 20 to 22. The dorsal fin consists of 10 spines anterior to 14 or 15 soft rays, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7 or 8 soft rays. The pectoral fins have 15 or 16 rays, with the caudal fin being slightly emarginate. The row of scales on the back rise obliquely above the lateral line, which contains 48 to 51 scales.[2] The species reaches a maximum length of 40 cm.[3]
The color is probably the most diagnostic feature of the fish, especially when alive or fresh from the water. The back and sides of the fish are bright yellow, with the lower sides and underside of head fading to white. Four bright blue stripes run longitudinally on the side of the fish, with several faint greyish stripes on lowermost part of sides. All fins are yellow in colour.[2]
[edit] Range and habitat
The bluestripe snapper is one of the most widespread species of the Lutjanidae, ranging from the coast of Egypt bordering the Red Sea, south to Madagascar and east to India, China, South East Asia, Australia and a number of Pacific Islands.[4] The species has also been introduced to the waters of Hawaii, causing concerns for aspects of the areas ecology.
Like many snappers, it inhabits coral reefs, occurring in both shallow lagoons and on outer reef slopes to depths of at least 60 m, but has been recorded at depths of 180 and 265 m at the Marquesas Islands and the Red Sea respectively. In Hawaii they have been reported to spend some time over seagrass and sandy substrates also.[5] They are frequently found in large aggregations around coral formations, caves or wrecks during daylight hours.[2]
[edit] Biology
The preferred habitat of the species changes with age, with young fish schooling on sandy substrates, while larger fish are more solitary, and inhabit deep reefs. The bluestripe snapper is part of an unusual mimicry relationship with the goatfish, Mulloidichthys mimicus, whose colouration nearly exactly matches that of the snapper. The goatfish are also known to school alongside the snapper, with this behaviour attributed to predatory protection, with goatfish presumably a more preferred prey than bluestripe snapper.[6]
[edit] Diet
The bluestripe snapper has a varied diet, feeding on fishes, shrimps, crabs, stomatopods, cephalopods and planktonic crustaceans, as well as plant and algae material. Diet varies with age, location and the prevalent prey items locally.[2]
[edit] Reproduction
The bluestripe snapper reaches sexual maturity at around 20 to 25 cm. Spawning occurs throughout most of the year in lower latitudes with peak activity reported for November and December in the Andaman Sea. Its eggs measure from 0.78 to 0.85 mm in diameter and hatch when temperatures reach 22 to 25°C.[2]
[edit] Relationship to humans
[edit] Introduction to Hawaii
In the 1950s, investigators from the Division of Fish and Game of the Territory of Hawaii conducted a number of marine fauna surveys and found the Hawaiian ichthyofauna was dominated by herbivorous fishes which they concluded were "a useless end in the food chain".[7] Unlike many Pacific Islands, Hawaii lacked any fish from the Serranidae or Lutjanidae family, so to increase recreational and commercial food fishing opportunities, and fill a perceived 'vacant ecological niche', collections of eleven species of snappers and groupers were made from Mexico, Kiribati, the Marquesas Islands and Moorea and introduced to Hawaii.[8] Only three species established, with the bluestripe snapper colonising and spreading more than any other species, now occupying many of the Hawaiian Islands.[9] In the following years, fishers and ecologists raised concerns that the snapper would out-compete other fish for space and food, as well as prey upon them. Scientific investigation has not been able to find evidence to support these claims with respect to competition for food or predation. There is some indication that the snappers may be competitively dominant over native yellow-fin goatfish, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis, for sheltering space on the reef [8]. This is likely only the case in situations where both are present in high densities.
There are also concerns that a parasitic nematode, Spirocamallanus istiblenni, was introduced to Hawaiian waters when the fish were released. The addition of this parasite may have an impact on native fishes, which have not been subject to the species before the introduction of L. kasmira.[10]
The species has also failed to establish as a food fish and commercial resource for the islands, because of low market prices. Since it competes with more commercially valuable fish, most fishers view it as a pest.
[edit] Commercial fishery
The bluestripe snapper is commonly taken throughout its range by handlines, traps and gill nets. It is usually marketed fresh, and is common in the markets of many countries. It is one of the principal species in the Hawaiian handline fishery,[11] but as noted above, it fetches low prices at market.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Lutjanus kasmira (TSN 168862). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 16 September 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g Allen, G.R. (1985). FAO Species Catalogue Vol. 6: Snappers of the World; An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Lutjanid Species Known to Date. Rome: FAO, 207. ISBN 92-5-102321-2.
- ^ a b c "Lutjanus kasmira". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. September 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
- ^ Carpenter, Kent E.; Volker H. Niem (eds.) (2001). FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). Rome: FAO, 3308. ISBN 92-5-104587-9.
- ^ Friedlander, M.A.; J.D. Parrish & R.C. DeFelice (2002). "Ecology of the introduced snapper Lutjanus kasmiva (Forsskal) in the reef fish assemblage of a Hawaiian bay". Journal of Fish Biology 60 (1): 28–48. doi:.
- ^ Randall, J.E.; P. Gueze (1980). "The goatfish Mulloidichthys mimicus n. sp. (Pisces, Mullidae) from Oceania, a mimic of the snapper Lutjanus kasmira (Pisces, Lutjanidae)". Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle Section A Zoologie Biologie et Ecologie Animales 2 (2): 603–609. ISSN 0181-0626.
- ^ Kanayama RK and Takata M (1972) Introduction of marine game fishes from areas in the Pacific, Job 1 (Study XII) of Statewide Dingell-Johnson program, Project F-9-2 to the State of Hawai’i DFG
- ^ a b Schumacher, B.D.; J.D. Parrish (2005). "Spatial relationships between an introduced snapper and native goatfishes on Hawaiian reefs". Biological Invasions 7 (6): 925–933. doi:. ISSN 1387-3547.
- ^ Coles, S.L.; DeFelice, R.C., Eldredge, L.G. (2002). "Nonindigenous marine species at Waikiki and Hawai'i Kai, O'ahu, Hawai'i. Final report.". Bishop Museum Technical Report 25: 1–245.
- ^ Font, William F.; Rigby, Mark C. (2000). "Implications of a new Hawaiian host record from blue-lined snappers Lutjanus kasmira: Is the nematode Spirocamallanus istiblenni native or introduced?". Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 64: 53–56. ISSN 0893-1348.
- ^ Ralston, S.; Polovina, J.J. (1982). "A multi-species analysis of the commercial deep sea hand.line fishery in Hawaii, USA". Fishery Bulletin (Washington DC) 80 (3): 435–448. ISSN 0090-0656.
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