PufferFish Group-12

Eugene GoncharovJonathan Foo

What are we doing?Originally we were under the

impression that the Northern Puffer had completely disappeared from the Great south bay, but upon further analysis we came to the conclusion that it did not completely disappear but became extremely scarce in that area. We have formulated several hypotheses as to why.

Northern Puffer Facts The northern puffer is a club-shaped fish with a

gray, brown or olive back and a yellow or white belly 

Adults have small spines covering the entire body with a tiny beak-like mouth.

The northern puffer inhabits bays, estuaries and protected coastal waters. This particular species lives in the Great south bay of Long Island.

Great South BayGreat South Bay is a lagoon that's situated

between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is approximately 45 miles (72 km) long. It's protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Island, barrier island, as well as the eastern end of Jones Beach Island and Cap tree Island.

What does it eat? Shellfish (Highly likely)

Finfish (Moderately likely)

Algae (Unlikely)

Our Hypotheses Loss of habitat

Loss of food

Loss of species members (Cumulative causation)

Environmental Issues of the Bay Waste runoff /Storm runoff / Pollution

Destruction of wet lands due to human behavior and hurricane activity

Rapid population growth/Increased tourism

Over Fishing

Loss of habitat Destruction of wetlands from natural and

human causes (over 30% of the wetlands that existed in the area are now inhabitable)

Overpopulation

Extreme levels of tourism

Loss of food Waste and storm run off increase levels in

nitrogen which causes death of algae fish.

Pollution makes the water unlivable and causes migration of species and death.

Overfishing of both fish and shellfish in the area has caused lack of food.

Loss of food (cont)A huge part of the fishes diet was the hard

clam, in recent years the amount of clams has decreased over 80% since the early 1900’s.

Loss of species membersCumulative causation refers to situations

where some force is amplified, then summed to its input.

Basically because the fish depend on each other for survival if fish are isolated they become easy targets for predators and fishermen.

Possible solutions Expanding seeding programs to bring clams

back into the bay.

Decrease fishing in the area until levels of marine life return to normal and then regulate it heavily

Eliminate all pollution