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REMUS Reef Reconnaissance

January 15, 2012

In order to design marine preserves that best protect fish, conservationists need to know more about where and how fish move from their larval to adult stages. In 2006, WHOI scientists launched a unique study, funded by the Oak Foundation, on Glover’s Reef in Belize. To track fish from their birthplace, biologist Simon Thorrold “tagged” fish embryos with a nontoxic chemical marker that can be detected in the fish’s ear bones throughout their life. He worked with WHOI biologist Jesús Pineda, who studies marine larvae, and physical oceanographer Glen Gawarkiewicz, who used a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle (above) to make detailed measurements of currents that may sweep fish larvae on and off reefs. (Photo by Andrey Shcherbina, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)