The International Marine Aquarium Conference - 2005

Martin Moe, Jr.

 

You know why bios are written in the third person? It's a lot easier to write about yourself when you can pretend some else is doing the writing. So, not being one to defy convention, I will write about Martin Moe as if he were someone else, but I'll try to be honest. Martin just turned 65 and is now on the cusp of senior citizenship. He's been working with marine life in one way or another for the last 45 years. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he works hard, and he's lucky. Not lucky in the "win the lotto" sense, but lucky in the conduct of life. This consists of knowing, as much as possible, who you are, always moving in the direction of your interests and abilities, and mostly, pursuing, recognizing, and accepting opportunities and responsibilities that carry you in this direction.

You also have to respect others, always deliver more than the contract specifies, and inspire others to do the same, but that's not luck, that's just part of who you are. If he had gone with the flow, instead of pursuing his interests, he could very well have spent his life running a hobby shop, selling life insurance, being a lifeguard, teaching middle school, or even delivering donuts, all respectable occupations, but not fulfilling the ambitions and aspirations of his youth.


 

Martin has a masters degree in marine biology, and has worked as lifeguard, a teacher, a fishery biologist, a marine fish breeder, and a writer. He began breeding marine fish, pompano, in 1969 and then developed the techniques for breeding clownfish in 1972. He started Aqualife Research in 1973 with clownfish and goby culture and then moved the company to the Florida Keys in 1975. There, the company continued to breed clownfish and other species, but concentrated on developing a method for breeding the large Atlantic angelfish, the French and the gray. This effort was biologically but not economically successful. The company moved to Walker's Cay in the Bahamas in the mid 1980s and concentrated on commercial clownfish culture. Martin became a bit "burned out" with running a fish hatchery and in the late 80s, and turned to writing and publishing books with his wife Barbara. Barbara was very good for Martin. They met in 1959 over a cup of coffee; she married him, put him through school, had three kids, edited and published their books, and generally kept the whole show on the road.

He wrote The Marine Aquarium Handbook , first edition published in 1982, which was very influential in the development of the marine aquarium hobby. The Marine Aquarium Reference followed in 1989 and since then he and Barbara have published a comprehensive book on spiny lobsters, a book on Breeding the Orchid Dottyback , and The Marine Aquarists' Quiz Book . The new edition of the Reference will update everything in the previous editions and include much more basic data and information on captive marine systems. Martin and Barbara now live in old house on the beach in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. The last three years have been a whirlwind of moving, working on the old house, trying to write, and of course, working with marine life and the fragile coral reef environment of the Florida Keys. A current project is working with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to restore the keystone herbivore, the long spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum , to the reefs of the Keys.

 


 

 

 


Martin is pictured here with his wife Barbara

 

ABSTRACT

Ethology: The Undiscovered Aquarium Science

First of all, a little background information. Ethology is the science of animal behavior. To most aquarists without some formal academic training in biology and the natural sciences, the scientific study of animal behavior is relatively unknown and the behavior of aquatic animals is often greatly misunderstood. The study of animal behavior on a scientific level is essential, however, to our understanding of the biology and ecology of any species of animal. And as we strive to protect animals from extinction and preserve exploited environments, the science of animal behavior and the biological understanding it provides is critically important to our efforts.

Animal behavior is what an animal does. An animal's behavior is a response to an internal and/or external stimulus and the resulting behavior may be simple or complex. One behavior stimulates another and a cascade of stimuli and reactions results in a complex behavior pattern such as feeding or mating. The presence of a change of color on a nearby male or female fish, for example, may cause the release of an internal hormone in a male or female which initiates the courtship behavior that culminates in spawning, all without “forethought and planning”. The identification and description of the elements of complex behavior patterns is an important part of the science of animal behavior.

The physical structure of an animal reflects and predicts its behavior. Form and function are genetically integrated with behavior, they cannot exist independently. A shark's mouth and teeth are not suitable for scraping algae off rocks and a parrotfish's beak cannot tear apart a seal. An individual animal's behavior can result in its survival and reproduction, or it can result in early death from predation or other causes. The animals that survive to reproduce pass on their behavior patterns to future generations. Thus behavior and form are married by survival.

Simple animals have relatively simple, and predictable, behaviors. A fan worm retracting when a shadow moves over it is an example of a simple behavior. Complex animals have complex behaviors that can vary due to changing situations and learning from experience. A trigger fish removing the legs from a spiny lobster and then turning it over to attack the underside is an example of a complex behavior. All animal behavior stems from the fundamental drives of securing food, reproducing, and striving for individual survival (which includes finding the environment where the animal is genetically adapted to survive). Even human behavior, with all the complexities of intelligence, culture, emotion, and language that mask and vary our behavior, is based on satisfying these drives.

Far too often we explain the behavior of animals in human terms; we may characterize the behavior of a triggerfish as mean, a clownfish defending an anemone as angry, a hiding shrimp as shy, a patrolling shark as sinister and cruel, and even a fully extended coral as happy. But these are human traits and emotions and while these terms may make it easy to express our observations of animals to others, they do not accurately describe the motivations for animal behavior. There is a large scientific discipline with an extensive literature that has and is defining animal behavior. Anyone that keeps, works with, and even just appreciates animals of any species will expand their understanding and knowledge of these animals by gaining even a rudimentary knowledge of the science of animal behavior.

For many species of fish and invertebrates, an aquarium presents a wonderful opportunity to study animal behavior in species that have never before been studied. Pigmy angelfish for example are easily kept in aquaria and are physically small with naturally small and limited territories to the point that they can exhibit to some degree natural behavior patterns in captivity. It is critically important, of course, not to assume that all behavior in captivity is the same as behavior in the natural environment. But once that caveat is satisfied, much can be learned about the basic behavior of a new world of animals that cannot, or only with extreme difficulty, be behaviorally studied in their natural environment.

I realize that this is a rather long abstract for my talk, but I thought it was important to provide a more detailed introduction to a talk that may allow many aquarists to see the fish and invertebrates in their aquariums with a better understanding and a greater interest in the behavior patterns they observe. I will describe some of the basic types of behavior patterns such as fixed action patterns, releasers, and innate releasing mechanisms with examples from animals typical to small marine aquariums and also describe complex behaviors such as larval fish feeding, orchid dottyback and clownfish courtship and egg care, and even some spectacular video of nurse shark mating (courtesy of Harold “Wes” Pratt of Mote Center for Shark Research). I hope that this will stimulate a behavior pattern in aquarists to see and understand the animals they care for in a new and more understanding light.