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The Small Spotted Dart, Trachinotus baillonii, is a species of jack in the family Carangidae, can reach a maximum length of 60 cm in males and a maximum weight of 1,5 Kg. The body color varies from silvery blue to grey above, with some small black spots on the flanks. The number of these spots increases with age. This fish is silvery white below. It has large, strong fins, a forked tail, and a narrow base. It feeds on small fishes. This species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from theRed Sea to Mangareva Islands and southern Japan. The smallspotted dart is a reef-associated species. It can be found in lagoons and seaward reefs, usually near the surface of waters. leccia stella maculata
School of Smallspotted Dart – Leccia Stella maculata – Trachinotus baillonii – www.intotheblue.it – www.intotheblue.link
Over 4,000 species of fish inhabit coral reefs. The reasons for this diversity remain unclear. Hypotheses include the “lottery”, in which the first (lucky winner) recruit to a territory is typically able to defend it against latecomers, “competition”, in which adults compete for territory, and less-competitive species must be able to survive in poorer habitat, and “predation”, in which population size is a function of postsettlement piscivore mortality. Healthy reefs can produce up to 35 tons of fish per square kilometer each year, but damaged reefs produce much less. Sometimes called rainforests of the sea, shallow coral reefs form some of Earth’s most diverse ecosystems. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean area, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species, including fish, mollusks, worms,echinoderms, sponges, tunicates and other cnidarians.
School of Smallspotted Dart – Leccia Stella maculata – Trachinotus baillonii – www.intotheblue.it – www.intotheblue.link
Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services for tourism, fisheries and shoreline protection. Coral reefs are fragile, partly because they are sensitive to water conditions. They are under threat from excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), rising temperatures, oceanic acidification, overfishing (e.g., from blast, fishing, cyanide fishing, spearfishing on), sunscreen use, and harmful land-use practices, including runoff and seeps,
(extract from Wikipedia)
