| Citation |
|
Description |
Western Pacific: Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and off northwestern Australia.
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: Acanthurus fowleri is found in the Coral Triangle Region from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia to the Solomon Islands, and Scott Reef off northwestern Australia (Randall 2001a).
Countries occurrence:
Native:
Australia (Ashmore-Cartier Is.); Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Solomon Islands; Timor-Leste
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – western central
Additional data:
? Lower depth limit (metres): 50
? Upper depth limit (metres): 2
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population: Acanthurus fowleri is rare in most of its range (J.H. Choat pers. comm. 2010). This species was recorded as occasional in terms of relative abundance in the northern Bismarck Sea, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea and Raja Ampat, Indonesia (Allen 2003, 2003b, 2009). In the central Visayas, Philippines, A. fowleri has only been recorded during fish visual censuses in Balicasag Is. and Tubbataha Island. It has not been observed in fishers catch and is not commonly found in fish markets (R. Abesamis and S. Conales, Jr. pers. comm. 2010).
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Additional data:
? Population severely fragmented: No
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: Acanthurus fowleri is generally found solitarily on deep outer reef slopes, usually in more than 20 m. It is easily confused with other similar species. It is classified as a grazer/detritivore (Choat and Bellwood pers. obs. in Green and Bellwood 2009). The sexes are separate among the acanthurids (Reeson 1983). Acanthurids do not display obvious sexual dimorphism, males assume courtship colours (J.H. Choat pers. comm. 2010).
Systems: Marine
Use and Trade [top]
Use and Trade: Acanthurus fowleri is a targeted food fish in New Ireland and Manus, Papua New Guinea (Hamilton et al. 2009) and is collected for food in parts of its range. It is also a minor component of the aquarium trade. Online prices range from $219.99-$699.95 based on size (L. Rocha pers. comm. 2010).
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s): Acanthurus fowleri is a targeted food fish in parts of its range. It is found in areas where illegal fishing practices are known to occur.
Surgeonfishes show varying degrees of habitat preference and utilization of coral reef habitats, with some species spending the majority of their life stages on coral reef while others primarily utilize seagrass beds, mangroves, algal beds, and /or rocky reefs. The majority of surgeonfishes are exclusively found on coral reef habitat, and of these, approximately 80% are experiencing a greater than 30% loss of coral reef area and degradation of coral reef habitat quality across their distributions. However, more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of coral reef habitat loss and degradation on these species populations. Widespread coral reef loss and declining habitat conditions are particularly worrying for species that recruit into areas with live coral cover, especially as studies have shown that protection of pristine habitats facilitate the persistence of adult populations in species that have spatially separated adult and juvenile habitats (Comeros-Raynal et al. 2012).
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions: There are no species-specific conservation measures in place for this species. Its distribution overlaps several marine protected areas in parts of its range.
Citation: Abesamis, R., Choat, J.H., Clements, K.D., McIlwain, J., Myers, R., Nanola, C., Rocha, L.A., Russell, B. & Stockwell, B. 2012. Acanthurus fowleri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T177959A1503075. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T177959A1503075.en. Downloaded on 04 September 2018.
Disclaimer: To make use of this information, please check the .
Feedback: If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided
|
