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CMA Awarded Grant for Tidewater Goby Education
As part of a broader collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, UC-Davis, UC-Santa Barbara and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium was awarded a grant to keep tidewater gobies onsite in the Aquatic Nursery and educate visitors about risks facing this endangered fish.
The overall project consists of three key parts: 1) Researchers at UC-Davis will launch the project by raising and breeding tidewater gobies and investigating the impacts of pesticides on the tidewater goby's health and lifecycle. 2) Scientists at UC-Santa Barbara will use information gathered during research at UC-Davis and develop models to determine how much pesticide exposure tidewater gobies can endure and still thrive in the wild. 3) Cabrillo Marine Aquarium will raise tidewater gobies in captivity while on display in the Aquatic Nursery to educate visitors about this endangered fish and raise awareness about the importance of limiting pesticide pollution and urban runoff.
"We are very excited to qualify for this grant and be a part of this important project," said CMA Research Curator Kiersten Darrow. "Not only is the tidewater goby already endangered, but this fish continues to face constant threats from development and pesticide pollution. We're looking forward to playing a crucial role in educating people about the tidewater goby and what they can do to help ensure its future."
The tidewater goby will be the Aquarium's second endangered animal onsite. It is a small fish, less than 2 inches in length, which lives in estuaries along California's coast. Tidewater gobies feed on small animals such as mysid shrimp, gamarid amphipods and aquatic insects. One way tidewater gobies catch prey is by sifting sediment in their mouth.
During breeding, male tidewater gobies dig burrows in sediment and females aggressively spar for the chance to lay eggs in a male's burrow. Male tidewater gobies remain in the burrow to guard the eggs for 9 to 11 days until they hatch. All this contact with sediment in estuaries places tidewater gobies at greater risk of exposure to pesticides and other contaminants that settle on the bottom.
Post Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2012
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