Banggai Cardinalfish: An Introduction (Part 1)
A single Bangaii cardinal takes refuge above a Diadema sp. urchin at dusk in “Secret Bay”, Bali, Indonesia where they are an introduced species.
The Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni), while seemingly ubiquitous to anyone who has recently become involved with marine aquaria, is in fact a relative newcomer to the trade. In 1994 ichythyologist super duo John Randall and Roger Steene “re-discovered” this Indonesian fish (originally described in 1933), and introduced it to the saltwater aquarium world at the MACNA VII conference. Immediately, the Banggai cardinal became a coveted prize for aquarists, and prices for a single fish easily exceeded $100. However, over the coming decade, aquarists happily saw these prices decrease and the supply increase. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well known at the time just how unique and vulnerable their population is in the wild. Currently, the Banggaii cardinalfish is listed as “threatened” by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). This listing does not confer any sort of special protective status to the fish or limit collection/trade.
In June 2007 an effort was made to list the Banggai cardinalfish as a CITES schedule II species, which would require an export permit (like stony corals and seahorses) and an annual limit. The proposal was defeated, but it is unlikely that the issue will disappear from the table anytime soon. In fact, it represents an area where we as marine aquarists are presented with an urgent issue that we can work to turn around if we make informed decisions. The purpose of this article is to examine the natural history, population structure, collection pressures, and why it matters so much to us as marine aquarists to understand the situation.
From August 2006 until April 2007 I lived and worked in Bali, Indonesia as an intern for the Marine Aquarium Council. That time allowed me to witness the aquarium trade from multiple perspectives. It provided insight into how a developing country must balance the management of it’s natural resources with the economic opportunities of it’s poorest citizens, all while under the scrutiny of influential international trade partners and NGO’s. It also provided me with a first hand look at the Banggai cardinal in the wild.
At the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) earlier in July, I was able to speak with noted Banggai cardinal researcher Dr. Alejandro Vagelli at his poster titled “Unregulated Collecting is Severely Impacting an Endangered Coral Reef Fish in Indonesia”. (as the title might suggest, Vagelli has spearheaded the effort to list the Banggai as CITES II) I took the opportunity to ask him questions and take notes from the research he was presenting.
In order to better understand how the Banggai cardinalfish has become such an iconic species in the debate over international trade in ornamental marine organisms, we must first look at what makes it such a unique species, and where it hails from.
The Banggai cardinalfish is an extremely unique shallow-water reef fish for several reasons. Foremost amongst those reasons is that it is endemic to their namesake Banggai Islands off the east coast of Sulawesi (Celebes) in Indonesia. Their natural range covers only about 5,500 square kilometers; a tiny area for a shallow water marine species to be restricted. Keep in mind also that the suitable habitat area for these fish is considerably smaller, as they are most often found in coastal waters fringing the small islands in this range. Vagelli estimates that they are native to about 300 km of coastline on only 32 of the 56 islands and islets in the region; by his calculations that leaves only about 30 square kilometers that are natively inhabited by these fish. If these statistics are correct, the Banggai cardinal is uniquely vulnerable like no other ornamental marine species in the trade.
Here is Indonesia, with the island of Sulawesi circled:
Map Source: www.sulawesi-dive.co.id
Here is a closer view of North Sulawesi. The Banggai Islands are circled:
Map Source: www.indonesia-tourism.com
And finally, here is a close up map of the Banggai Islands:
Map Source: Wikipedia
Their endemism is likely the result of another unique feature of the Banggai cardinalfish’s natural history… Most marine fish produce relatively large amounts of tiny eggs that hatch into helpless planktonic larvae that are capable of dispersing, via water currents, far from the site of their birth. Banggai cardinals, however, demonstrate a reproductive strategy that is more closely aligned with freshwater fish, such as cichlids. Banggais are parental mouth-brooders, like other cardinalfish. However, unlike other cardinals, the Banggai produces far fewer and much larger eggs by comparison (generally just 30-75 per clutch). Furthermore, parental care extends beyond just brooding eggs, and continues on to protecting the newly hatched young for more than a week within the mouth. Interestingly, it is the father that takes the role of caretaker, foregoing food for up to one month while mouth-brooding. By the time the young are released from their father’s care, they are essentially free-swimming, miniature adults; no larval dispersal period ever occurs. An end result of this highly specialized care, is that the Banggai cardinal populations are extremely localized, with minimal genetic exchange with “nearby” populations (even 10km away). Where the father lives, so will the children.
Even more restricting than reproductive strategy of the Banggai cardinalfish, is their preference for protective micro-habitats, such as anemones, long tentacled corals, and sea urchin spines. By and large, Banggais are essentially defenseless in open water. They lack spines, poison, sharp teeth, pugnacious attitude, fast moves, or any other attribute that would otherwise keep them out of harm’s way. Instead these cautious fish make use of other animals’ poisons and spines to their advantage, in a similar manner to clownfish and some damselfish.
Here a cohort of juvenile Banggai cardinalfish take refuge amongst the spines of a Diadema sp. urchin. (Lembeh Strait, north-east Sulawesi, Indonesia)
They are almost always found near by to their preferred protected area, retreating within the tentacles/spines/rocks at the slightest sign of danger. While they don’t nestle amongst the tentacles of these stinging cnidarians with the fervor of clownfish, they don’t seem to mind casual contact with the tentacles, indicating some sort of immunity.
The large eyes and sharply sloping jaw bones of the Banggai cardinal seems to clearly depict the wary, cautious nature of these fish in an almost cartoonish way. Here a Bangaii seeks refuge in an elegance coral (Catalyphylia jardinei).
Now that we have explored some of the aspects of the Banggai cardinalfish’s unique life history and geographical isolation, we will next take a look at the impact of collection, population statistics, and their recent range expansion throughout Indonesia…
