Published on 27. April 2015 Nearshore movement ecology of a medium-bodied shark, the creek whaler Carcharhinus fitzroyensis Samantha EM Munroe, Colin A Simpfendorfer, James Moloney, Michelle R Heupel ABSTRACT: Background The movement and habitat use patterns of medium-bodied nearshore sharks are poorly understood. However, these species face some of the highest levels of exposure to
Published on 22. April 2015 Redescription of the eagle rays Myliobatis hamlyni Ogilby, 1911 and M. tobijei Bleeker, 1854 (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) from the East Indo-West Pacific William T. White, Junro Kawauchi, Shannon Corrigan, Elisabeth Rochel, Gavin J.P. Naylor ABSTRACT: The eagle rays Myliobatis hamlyni Ogilby, 1911 and Myliobatis tobijei Bleeker, 1854 are redescribed based on
Published on 28. April 2015 Extensive retroviral diversity in shark Guan-Zhu Han ABSTRACT: Background Retroviruses infect a wide range of vertebrates. However, little is known about the diversity of retroviruses in basal vertebrates. Endogenous retrovirus (ERV) provides a valuable resource to study the ecology and evolution of retrovirus. Findings I performed a genome-scale screening for
Published online on 23. April 2015 Morphological abnormalities in elasmobranchs A. B. M. Moore ABSTRACT: A total of 10 abnormal free-swimming (i.e. post-birth) elasmobranchs are reported from The (Persian–Arabian) Gulf, encompassing five species and including deformed heads, snouts, caudal fins and claspers. The complete absence of pelvic fins in a milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus may
Published online on 23. April 2015 Risks and advantages of using surface laser photogrammetry on free-ranging marine organisms: a case study on white sharks Carcharodon carcharias G. Leurs, C. P. O’Connell, S. Andreotti, M. Rutzen, H. Vonk Noordegraaf ABSTRACT: This study employed a non-lethal measurement tool, which combined an existing photo-identification technique with a surface,
Published online on 23. April 2015 Mating scars reveal mate size in immature female blue shark Prionace glauca H. J. Calich, S. E. Campana ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to determine the size and maturity status of the male blue sharks Prionace glauca attempting to mate with small, immature females in the north-west
Published online on 20. April 2015 Occurrence and use of an estuarine habitat by giant manta ray Manta birostris A. M. Medeiros, O. J. Luiz, C. Domit ABSTRACT: Based on the knowledge of local artisanal fishermen and on direct observations, this study presents evidence that the giant manta ray Manta birostris uses the Paranaguá estuarine
Published online on 20 April 2015 In situ observations of a possible skate nursery off the western Antarctic Peninsula M. O. Amsler, K. E. Smith, J. B. McClintock, H. Singh, S. Thatje, S. C. Vos, C. J. Brothers, A. Brown, D. Ellis, J. Anderson, R. B. Aronson ABSTRACT: A dense aggregation of skate egg cases
Published online on 11. April 2015 Targeted shark fisheries, DNA barcoding and regulating shark fin trade in Indonesia Vincent Nijman ABSTRACT: It is challenging to identify shark fins to the individual species level given that sharks are mostly ‘definned’ at sea, removing the fins and discarding the bodies, with the dried fins being sold to
Published online on 11. April 2015 Osmoregulation by juvenile brown-banded bamboo sharks, Chiloscyllium punctatum, in hypo- and hyper-saline waters R.L. Cramp, M.J. Hansen, C.E. Franklin ABSTRACT: While there is a considerable body of work describing osmoregulation by elasmobranchs in brackish and saltwater, far fewer studies have investigated osmoregulation in hypersaline waters. We examined osmo- and
Published online on 23. March 2015 Using biological variables and reproductive strategy of the undulate ray Raja undulata to evaluate productivity and susceptibility to exploitation B. Serra-Pereira, K. Erzini, I. Figueiredo ABSTRACT: The present work provides a detailed analysis of the reproductive strategy of the undulate ray Raja undulata in Portuguese mainland waters. The species
Published online on 13. March 2015 Variation in whole-, landed- and trimmed-carcass and fin-weight ratios for various sharks captured on demersal set-lines off eastern Australia Naomi Pleizier, Lee F.G. Gutowsky, Victor M. Peddemors, Steven J. Cooke, Paul A. Butcher ABSTRACT: Sharks are important apex predators in marine systems but many populations have experienced large declines,
Published online on 10. March 2015 Demographic history and the South Pacific dispersal barrier for school shark (Galeorhinus galeus) inferred by mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite DNA mark Sebastián Hernández, Ross Daley, Terry Walker, Matias Braccini, Andrea Varela, Malcolm P. Francis, Peter A. Ritchie ABSTRACT: We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) sequences and genotypes