According to an analysis of the Atlantic cod’s genome, scientists have discovered the fish have evolved to survive without a set of genes thought essential to the immune system. It is hoped the finding will lead to better vaccines for farmed cod and even open new avenues of medical research for human disease.
The unique fish is called the Benguela-goby, or bearded goby, and is found only on the anoxic continental shelf outside Namibia and South-Africa. Since the collapse of the sardine fisheries, this goby has become the new predominant prey species for larger fish, birds and mammals in the region
The review of the handfishes brings the family to 14 known species – six found only in Tasmania and one known from only one specimen possibly collected in Tasmania by early European explorers, yet not recorded since. It also deepens concerns about the declining populations of some handfishes.
The Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) and its collaborators announced today the world’s first use of an acoustic underwater camera to survey juveniles of goliath grouper in mangrove habitats.
