Browsing by Author "Takaomi Arai"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Diversity and conservation of coral reef fishes in the Malaysian South China Sea
    (Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2014-09-12) Takaomi Arai
    Marine biological diversity in the South China Sea is immensely rich, with at least 3,365 species of marine fishes, more than one-third of these are coral reef fish. Understanding the present status of coral reef fishes in the South China Sea in terms of their biodiversity and abundance is therefore important for the sustainable use of coral reef resources in the future. This paper is an overview of the diversity, species composition and species richness of coral reef fishes in the Malaysian South China Sea. A number of coral reef fishes consisting of 35 families and 86 species have been categorised as extinct or threatened. Natural and anthropogenic factors are affecting coral reefs and their ecosystems, with overfishing, blast fishing, poison fishing and trawling considered the major threats in Malaysia. In the Malaysian South China Sea, blast fishing is still practiced in Sabah, East Malaysia (Borneo), and the activity is considered a serious issue.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Occurrence Of The Tropical Eels Anguilla Bengalensis Bengalensis And Anguilla Bicolor Bicolor In Peninsular Malaysia And Implications For Eel Taxonomy
    (Marine Biodiversity Records, 2015-01) Takaomi Arai; Too Chin Chin; Kok Onn Kwong; Mohd Nor Siti Azizah
    The anguillid eels found in Peninsular Malaysia were identified using a morphological analysis and that identification was further validated as Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis and Anguilla bicolor bicolor by an analysis of the eels’ mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences. Because of the difficulty of accurately identifying tropical eels solely on morphological analyses, previous studies had reported the occurrence of the tropical eel species Anguilla marmorata in Peninsular Malaysia. This study suggests the occurrence of Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis in Malaysian waters, confirmed by both morphological and molecular genetic analyses. Anguilla bicolor is further confirmed as the subspecies of Anguilla bicolor bicolor by molecular genetic analyses. The present study also suggests that accurate tropical eel species identification requires validation by molecular genetic analysis after a morphological observation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Species-specific liver moisture content of coral reef fishes in the Malaysian South China Sea
    (Tropical Ecology, 2016) Takaomi Arai; Razikin Amalina; Zainudin Bachok
    Moisture content is an important measure of seafood quality as the flesh including liver naturally has high water content. Furthermore, moisture content is an important measure of ecological and environmental monitoring studies on coral reef fishes. However, few studies have reported the moisture content in coral reef fishes. Liver moisture contents and biological factors such as condition factor, hepatosomatic index (HSI) and gonado somatic index were examined in twenty-one coral reef fish species collected in Malaysian South China Sea. Four species of parrotfishes genus Scarus spp. were found to have significantly lower liver moisture relative to other reef fish species. A significant negative correlation was found between moisture content and HSI.