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DNA tests reveal that the Pacific and Atlantic goliath groupers are two distinct species |
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Researchers from the University of Hawaii, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, National Marine Fisheries Service and Projecto Meros do Brazil have found that the goliath groupers in the Atlantic are not the same groupers that swim in Pacific waters, even though they look identical.
Until this research it was thought that although the species Epinephelus itajara in the Atlantic and Pacific were separated about three-and-a-half million years ago when the Caribbean and the Pacific became separated by present-day Panama were the same species and since that time, the two populations have evolved into genetically distinct populations. The research team has found significant differences in the DNA from both populations indicating that the two populations have evolved into two separate species. The Pacific species is now classified as Epinephelus quinquefasciatus. Caribbeab
Starfish being used as frisbees in Grenada Tourism officials on the Caribbean island of Grenada are concerned about dog owners taking starfish out of the sea and throwing them like frisbees for their dogs to catch and are launching an education campaign to stop it. As well as being the s are being left to die in the sun on the island’s popular Grand Anse beach and producing a foul smell. |
