JAKARTA – October 11, 2013 – Conservation International (CI) has announced the release of the “Reef Fishes Of The East Indies” app, a digital guide to every known reef fish species in the region.
The app is based on the book of the same name, CI noted in a press release.
Co-author, Mark Erdmann CI’s senior advisor to the Indonesian Marine Program said, “Sharing this knowledge brings greater value to the biodiversity present here and we hope this will increase motivation and momentum for its conservation to ensure that these species and their delicate ecosystems remain in balance. Maintaining this natural capital is key to the region’s important tourism industry, and other ecosystem services the ocean provides the people."
The guide includes information on over 2,500 reef fishes of which 25 species are new to science.
< src="/global//UserFiles/rhinopias eschmeyerirs. " width="100%" alt="" />
NON-NEW SPECIES: Rhinopias eschmeyeri – the beautifully colored Eschmeyer’s scorpionfish; the book covers all 54 scorpionfishes known from the East Indies. © Roger Steene
The authors, scientists Mark Erdmann and Gerry Allen, have spent much of their lives at sea discovering, studying and conserving some of the most rare and beautiful fish in the world, CI said.
Summarizing 60 years of research and exploration, the app’s coverage includes the Coral Triangle (including Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands) which alone boasts 37 percent of the world’s coral reef fish species – more than anywhere else on the planet.
It also includes the South China Sea (including Brunei Darussalam to Vietnam and Singapore), the Andaman Sea (including Thailand, Myanmar, and the Andaman Islands of India) and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
“This is the perfect digital guide for divers and nature lovers to use in the office, school, home or out on the open sea,” Erdman said. “We had originally simply created a book, but later thought it would be great to produce an app to bring this information to the masses in an easy to access, transportable format.”
The app contains interactive features such as search, note-taking and drawing features, detailed entries for each species, and photo-sharing by email and social media.
"From the majestic manta ray (Manta birostris) to the gorgeous, jewel-like mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus), with 2,655 species in over 3,000 Retina Display/High Definition photos, the sheer quantity of content is split between three volumes for iPad that link together seamlessly, so you can move instantly between one volume and another," CI said, adding that the app will be regularly updated as the scientists discover new species.
Erdmann and Allen most recently found a new species of “walking” Bamboo Shark (Hemiscyllium halmahera) in the waters off the Maluku Islands, Indonesia.
Designed for iPad and Kindle Fire, “Reef Fishes Of The East Indies” doesn’t “stream” content, so it can be used out at sea, even with no internet connection, CI said. The proceeds of this CI-produced app will support CI Indonesia’s marine conservation program.
