Unique lives of parrot fish and hawksbill turtles
Unique lives of parrot fish and hawksbill turtles
Learn about parrot fishes and hawksbill sea turtles.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
Although the islands of the South Pacific are only small dots in the vast sea of waves, they are the home of many thousands of different creatures. Under the sun-lit surface of the water, the corals grow. They in turn provide the food base for one of the world's most exotic fish. The parrotfish belongs to to the family of wrasses and is one of the most colorful fish of the tropical seas. Its name comes from its beak-like mouth. The majority of this species is reaching the size of 30–60 centimeters. Almost all species are sequential hermaphrodites, starting as females and then changing to males. Thus, each animal has the ability to dazzle in the magnificent colors of the males. Females are greyish with a purple to green belt.
The parrotfish feed mainly on the corals, which he grinds up with his beak but he is actually aiming for the coralline algae living in symbiosis. After they digest the coral, they excrete it as sand. So the fish helps to create small islands and the sandy beaches. A single big parrotfish can produce between 90 kilograms to one ton of sand each year. At the beginning of a moonphase reproduction takes place. In the reefs themselves a lot of parrotfish aggregate and built harem associations. When the female has spawned, numerous males immediately follow and give their sperm to fertilize the eggs.
By nightfall on the reef sharks and other hunters begin their search for food. High time to seek shelter. The parrot fish have developed a special technique to do so. They wrap themselves in a cocoon for camouflage. Fragrances emanating from the fish will be neutralized by the cocoon, therefore it's harder for parasites, moray an sharks to sniff the sleeping parrotfish.
A special marine life is at home in the Pacific waters. The hawksbill turtle loves warm waters. Reefs and lagoons off the coast serve as the genuine turtles habitat. Here they have their hunting ground. Here they go on the search for food. Their food includes small crustaceans, mollusks and algae, but sponges represent the majority of their meals. The turtle is not picky, because it belongs to the omnivores and can even digest toxic sponges without any damage to itself. Thereafter, however, the meat of the turtle itself remains toxic for quite some time. When the turtle scans the reef in search of tasty sponges there even are several left overs for the angelfish which accompany them in their search for food.
Although the shell of a tortoise can protect them quite good from tiger sharks or other predators, the hawksbill turtle belongs to the endangered species. Humans have been hunting these animals for decades, for their meat, eggs and the tortoise, which is extracted from the tanks and is used in arts and crafts. Despite the high probability of contamination in meat consumption, the hawksbill turtle is still classified as a delicacy in some countries. The Washington Convention put this species under international protection, to give them one last chance. It is forbidden to hunt the turtle, to collect the eggs or to catch the hatchlings and keep them in aquariums. However, the protection measures are not easy to perform in relation to the lack of data on the migrations of the sea turtle and the strong scattering of their breeding places. Therefore, the programs for conservation provide and do research that can ensure the survival of the real turtle.
The parrotfish feed mainly on the corals, which he grinds up with his beak but he is actually aiming for the coralline algae living in symbiosis. After they digest the coral, they excrete it as sand. So the fish helps to create small islands and the sandy beaches. A single big parrotfish can produce between 90 kilograms to one ton of sand each year. At the beginning of a moonphase reproduction takes place. In the reefs themselves a lot of parrotfish aggregate and built harem associations. When the female has spawned, numerous males immediately follow and give their sperm to fertilize the eggs.
By nightfall on the reef sharks and other hunters begin their search for food. High time to seek shelter. The parrot fish have developed a special technique to do so. They wrap themselves in a cocoon for camouflage. Fragrances emanating from the fish will be neutralized by the cocoon, therefore it's harder for parasites, moray an sharks to sniff the sleeping parrotfish.
A special marine life is at home in the Pacific waters. The hawksbill turtle loves warm waters. Reefs and lagoons off the coast serve as the genuine turtles habitat. Here they have their hunting ground. Here they go on the search for food. Their food includes small crustaceans, mollusks and algae, but sponges represent the majority of their meals. The turtle is not picky, because it belongs to the omnivores and can even digest toxic sponges without any damage to itself. Thereafter, however, the meat of the turtle itself remains toxic for quite some time. When the turtle scans the reef in search of tasty sponges there even are several left overs for the angelfish which accompany them in their search for food.
Although the shell of a tortoise can protect them quite good from tiger sharks or other predators, the hawksbill turtle belongs to the endangered species. Humans have been hunting these animals for decades, for their meat, eggs and the tortoise, which is extracted from the tanks and is used in arts and crafts. Despite the high probability of contamination in meat consumption, the hawksbill turtle is still classified as a delicacy in some countries. The Washington Convention put this species under international protection, to give them one last chance. It is forbidden to hunt the turtle, to collect the eggs or to catch the hatchlings and keep them in aquariums. However, the protection measures are not easy to perform in relation to the lack of data on the migrations of the sea turtle and the strong scattering of their breeding places. Therefore, the programs for conservation provide and do research that can ensure the survival of the real turtle.