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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Feds Spend $728K to Study Sex-Changing Fish



Fish Sex Changes
A taxpayer funded study of sex changing fish.
We are ruled over by madmen.


The National Science Foundation has awarded a total of $727,798 in federal funds for a three-year study on the impacts of size-selective mortality on sex-changing fish.

“Many marine fish species change sex during their lifetimes, and many of them are targets of commercial and recreational fishing,” the grant said. “The timing of sex change in these animals is often related to body size, so populations typically consist of many small fish of the initial sex (usually female) and few large fish of the other sex (usually male).”

According to the grant, smaller fish face greater mortality risk from predators, but fishermen usually seek larger fish reports CNS News.

“Thus, fishing that targets larger individuals may skew sex ratios, removing enough of the larger sex to hinder reproduction. However, the extent to which size-selective mortality affects sex-changing fishes is poorly understood,” it said.

“The results will advance our knowledge of the susceptibility and resilience of sex-changing organisms to different types of size-selective mortality and will reveal how sex-changing species can recover after size-selection ceases, as in populations within marine reserves where fishing is suddenly prohibited,” it added.

The project will involve research support from graduate students and undergraduates from California State University Northridge, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Federal money has been awarded to three different sponsors: $210,326 to UNC; $310,220 to the University Corporation, Northridge, and $207,252 to San Jose State University Foundation.


Fish Heads - Barnes and Barnes (1979)  




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