The clownfish was one of more than 200 species of fish that were examined. Credit: Katie Sambrook / ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.New research has shown that baby coral reef fishes outperform all other baby fishes in oceans.Adam Downie, the lead author, is a doctoral candidate at James Cook University's ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE at JCU).Mr Downie stated that young coral reef fishes are the best aquatic athletes. They swim around 15-40 m per second.For comparison, herring babies can swim up to two lengths per minute, while Michael Phelps, the Olympic gold medalist, can swim only 1.4 lengths per second.Mr Downie stated that swimming performance in baby fishes is related to their association with a reef.A reef fish must navigate the open ocean currents and waters when they are a baby looking for a home. They need to have a greater swimming ability than non-reef fishes in order to be successful at this task."We believe habitat association has shaped swimming performance in the early stages of these marine fishes' lives," co-author Dr. Peter Cowman (also from Coral CoE at JCU) and Senior Curator for Biosystematics from Queensland Museum’s Project DIG."In our study we compared over 200 marine fish species across their 150-million years of common ancestry. Dr. Cowman stated that baby fishes that are able to settle on a reef in later life, regardless of whether they are tropical or temperate, have developed larger muscles and a faster swimming speed than their non-reef cousins.These muscles and organs are developed quickly by the babies of reef fish. These attributes are not present in other fishes, such as the herring which lives out its entire life in open water."These tiny creatures don't exist as passive particles in the ocean," stated Associate Professor Jodie Rummer from Coral CoE and JCU's College of Science and Engineering. They are highly skilled athletes.""Swimming machinery is formed early in a fish’s life. Some do it faster than others.Another study by Mr Downie found that the reef where baby reef fishes live could have an impact on their athletic performance. These young fishes could be deprived of their natural habitats and require more energy to survive. This could lead to problems in their growth, swimming, and other vital activities.Mr Downie stated that while reef fishes can be great swimmers in their early years, their home conditions can have a huge impact on their performance and likely their ability as healthy adults."Global coral reefs are being destroyed by climate change, pollution and boat traffic.Dr. Rummer stated that future reef fish populations are at risk as a result of the ongoing global coral reef damage.She stated that "Compromise the health and well-being of baby fishes is detrimental to the health of adult populations, and thus entire marine ecosystems."Mr Downie stated that there are approximately 17,000 marine fish species. They are essential for any functioning marine ecosystem, not to mention vital for fisheries which provide nearly half the world's population with food.He stated that "our findings demonstrate how critical it is to urgently reduce human impact on these fragile species, ecosystems,"Healthy reefs are good for fish health and the planet's well-being.Learn more Big vegetarians on the reef drive fish evolutionAdditional information: Adam T. Downie and colleagues, The influence habitat association on swimming performance of marine teleost fish larvae. Fish and Fisheries (2021). Adam T. Downie and colleagues, The impact of habitat association on swimming performance for marine teleost fish larvae (2021). DOI: 10.111/faf.12580 Adam T. Downie and colleagues, The degrading coral habitat affects the oxygen uptake rate of juvenile reef fish during exercise, Coral Reefs (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s00338-21-02113-x Journal Information: Fish and Fisheries, Coral ReefsThis information was provided by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
