Taxon name
Lethrinus microdon
Valenciennes, 1830
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Lethrinus microdon
Valenciennes, 1830
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
Valenciennes, 1830
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Data deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This inshore, reef-associated species occurs throughout UAE waters. Despite an Abu Dhabi stock assessment reporting it as underexploited as of 2016, catch has declined by 75% over the past two generation lengths, or since 2009. This conflicting information cannot be clearly explained, in part due to the lack of information regarding fishing effort trends. It is also heavily exploited in areas outside the UAE. Based on the potential major threat from overfishing, this species is listed as Data Deficient in the UAE. Improvements in fisheries monitoring are needed.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific (Carpenter and Allen 1989, Randall 1995). Its depth range is 10-80 m (Carpenter and Allen 1989).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This speciesinhabits sandy areas near coral reefs as well as on seagrass beds. It shoals in small schools and actively feeds during the day and night on fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods and polychaetes (Carpenter and Allen 1989, Dorenbosch et al. 2005). The maximum total length is 80 cm (Kuiter and Tonozuka 2001). This species is fast-growing and short-lived with a high natural mortality rate. In the southern Arabian Gulf, spawning occurs between June and November and the mean age and size at sexual maturity is 3 years and 27.4 cm for males and 4.8 years and 29.1 cm for females (Grandcourt et al. 2010). A study conducted in the Red Sea off Egypt reported longevity of this species as 7 years (Mehanna et al. 2017). When applying an age at first reproduction of 5 years and longevity of 7 years, its estimated generation length is 6 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Overfishing is a potential major threat to this species in the UAE and surrounding areas. Corals in the UAE and Arabian Gulf have severely declined due to the increasing frequency of mass bleaching events caused by rising water temperatures, which is a consequence of climate change, as well as pervasive coastal development (Riegl et al. 2018, Burt et al. 2019).
Publication
Ralph, G.M., Stump, E., Linardich, C., Bullock, R.W., Carpenter, K.E., Allen D.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Al Mheiri, R., and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes. 2021. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
