Rotenone:
An Essential but Demonized Tool for Assessing Marine Fish Diversity
D. ROSS ROBERTSON AND WILLIAM F. SMITH-VANIZ
Coral reefs, one of the most biologically diverse
and important ecosystems on Earth, are experiencing unprecedented
and increasing ecologicaldecline, yet the fish faunas of such reefs
and other tropical shoreline habitats remain poorly known in many
areas. Rotenone, a natural substance traditionally used by subsistence
fishers, is a uniquely efficient tool for sampling reef and other
shore fishes for marine research. Unfortunately, such sampling is
perceived as being highly destructive, and increasing prohibitions
against using rotenone in many countries will soon cripple essential
research on reef-fish biodiversity worldwide. In this article we
dispel common misconceptions about the environmental effects of
small-scalerotenone sampling in marine research.
Keywords: coral reef fishes, biodiversity research,
rotenone sampling
BioScience • February 2008 / Vol. 58 No. 2
www.biosciencemag.org
This publication is made available with the permission
of the
American Institute of Biological Sciences
Smithsonian Institution
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