Environment: Small-bodied and short-lived, tiny freshwater fish play big roles in ecosystems |
A threatened Aussie tiddler flashes a fin for tiny freshwater fish worldwide, toxic PFAS chemicals are all around us and deep inside us and never go away, and illegal gold mining in Congo destroys the environment and communities.
Tiny fishes – miniature marvels that slip through the net
In the global hierarchy of humans’ sentiment for animals, big, visible and dramatic are higher than small and reclusive, vertebrates are higher than invertebrates, warm and fluffy mammals and birds are higher than cold, scaly and slithery reptiles, amphibians and fish, land animals are higher than water-dwellers, and in the water, marine are higher than freshwater. What hope then for enthusing the public about tiny freshwater fishes with unpronounceable names?
SHOAL, a global partnership whose goal is to save 1,000 threatened freshwater fish species from extinction, is trying to invert the traditional hierarchy by telling the exciting stories of ten tiny fishes, none of them longer than 40mm – the last two bits of your little finger. They live in all sorts of places - forest pools no bigger than a puddle, limestone springs, swamps and even fast flowing rivers. But they are enormously important to their ecosystems. They feast on algae, plankton, vegetation and small invertebrates, recycle nutrients, control insect populations and provide food for bigger beasts in the food chain.
Tiny fish have short lifespans and limited ranges in highly specific habitats. They are very sensitive to environmental change - bad news for them but it also makes them useful bioindicators of environmental conditions. Thriving tiny fish indicate a thriving ecosystem and saving 1,000 species from extinction depends on ensuring that they have thriving habitats. But now to the really good bit …
… an Aussie fish has been selected among the 10 global super stars. The Red-finned Blue-eye (RfBe)– go on, admit it, you’ve never heard of it - was originally found in just seven small artesian springs less than 8cm deep in central-western Queensland. It has a marvellous scientific name: Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis which means spring fish with red fins.
The RfBe is Australia’s smallest freshwater fish (25mm long at most) and is the only species in its genus. It is extremely sensitive to any environmental disturbance and was classified as Critically Endangered in 1996. By 2012 it was surviving in only three springs and was listed as one of the 100 most endangered species........