HELPING THE MUSEUM SPREAD ITS MESSAGE

Teachers or others interested in making their own branch of the Museums of Endangered Ocean Life, get in touch. We can help you find ways of helping kids create their own works of art and science that get posted in the museum, worldwide!

More importantly, we can help kids find ways to truly make a difference, no matter where they live. There is always something to do to make the world a better place, a healthier place, and more fun too. Fred can help put smiles on faces - faces of happier kids with new purpose in a new year!

Become a FRIEND OF FRED and help spread the word about those who help endangered species. Invite Fred to your school. He will bring lots of good information and connect you with others.

More information at whalemail@waypoint.com

Facing Future Explained

EXTINCT means gone, pau, from all places. Example, the O'o is extinct from its former forests in Hawaii. They no longer exist.

EXTIRPATEDmeans gone from a given area. Example, Grizzly Bears were extirpated from California about 1925. They still exist.

ENDANGERED means that a species is nearing extinction unless actions are taken immediately to save them. It is usually a legal term associated with the Endangered Species Act, but because this is a political tool, it does not always reflect accurate science. Example: the Hawaiian Monk Seal is endangered and will likely become extinct.

THREATENED means that a species is likely to near extinction and become endangered unless actions are taken to protect it and its habitat. Example: Bald Eagles were threatened but have been removed from this list due to habitat protection and reductions in use of chemicals such as DDT.

SPECIES OF CONCERN: Many states have lists that include species not covered under federal protection as endangered or threatened. These may be species extirpated from the state, but present in greater numbers in neighboring areas.

Unfortunately, no reasonable approach has been worked out to list endangered habitats, the primary living space for all life forms. To many scientists, the entire Arctic is now endangered. Imagine, as Richard Ellis says, "If Australia were suddenly to disappear, don't you think we would wake up and do something?" Well, we are losing an area about the size and importance of Australia as the Arctic disappears, transforming due to climate change and taking with it the Polar Bears, Bowhead Whales, and Peoples dependent on that vast ecosystem.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

CLEANER WRASSE AND PARROT FISH



John Hoover devotes his life to photographing
Underwater Worlds.
He generously gifts his images like this to help us understand and appreciate
FISH.

The larger fish is a parrot.
Chomps algae and coral to create sandy beaches.
This is a well known and often stated connection in coral reef ecology.
Parrot fish are critical to coral survival. Coral is critical to parrot fish survival.

So too, the tiny Cleaner Wrasse.
That is the little bugger of purple and gold.
It is curled near the bigger fish, but often is seen darting into mouths of
bigger fish like Ulua and Surgeons.

The Cleaner Wrasse stations itself at a location on the reef.
Bigger fish come over and get cleaned of parasites
and stuff caught between their teeth.
Like my dental hygenist, Jeannie, they serve a most important role.

A couple weeks ago I was snorkeling on Kauai at a favorite spot.
It had been maybe three years since I had seen a cleaner wrasse here....

My friend Tom was along and I had told him about how the wrasse had
been there....always. For years and years.

Much to my delight, there were TWO cleaners working the little shelf
where I first saw them twenty years ago.
So, maybe they can come back if we take care of the reefs?
Most important to remember ---
ALL parts, ALL species must be there
to make it all work right. To be Pono.

Thanks to John Hoover for his tireless work
educating us with his books and more.

Be sure to see his
The Ultimate Guide to
Hawaiian
Reef Fishes

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1 comment:

  1. Steve SavageDecember 10, 2009 at 10:14 AM

    Hi Fred, its me Ed the Bear. What a great idea your Endangered Species Museum is. What is better still is that these animals are still alive - well for now anyway.

    So much better than a museum filled with stuffed animals that once lived and are now extinct.

    Its also great to see all these amazing humans that are doing their very best to make sure that these animals are around for future generation.

    People have gotta help and take responsibility once they have visited your museum.

    Just keep doing what you do best

    Hope we get to meet up again some time soon.

    Ed

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