fish populations

The roadmap to the future of the gorgeously-decorated fish which throng Australia’s coral reefs may well be written in their genes.

Of particular importance may be to protect ‘pioneer’ fish populations which are able to re-colonize regions of reef devastated by global warming and other impacts or settle new areas as the corals move south.

The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems -- a new study has found that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent.

In less than three decades the round goby has become one of the most colorful features of the southern Baltic.

The fish, which comes from the Black Sea, has rapidly adapted to Baltic conditions and can locally dominate coastal fish populations.

This has led to competition with indigenous fish species, such as the flounder, but it has also become a significant contribution to the diet of important predatory fishes, such as cod and perch.