Scientific Papers

Individual haplotyping of whale sharks from seawater environmental DNA

Individual haplotyping of whale sharks from seawater environmental DNA

Individual haplotyping of whale sharks from seawater environmental DNA Laurence Dugal, Luke Thomas, Mads Reinholdt Jensen, Eva Egelyng Sigsgaard, Tiffany Simpson, Simon Jarman, Philip Francis Thomsen, Mark Meekan ABSTRACT: Population genetic data can provide valuable information on the demography of a species. For rare and elusive marine megafauna, samples for generating the data are traditionally

Shark VNAR antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infection

Shark VNAR antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infection

Single domain shark VNAR antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro Aziz Gauhar, Cyril V Privezentzev, Mykhaylo Demydchuk, Tanja Gerlza, Julia Rieger, Andreas J Kungl, Frank S Walsh, J Lynn Rutkowski, Pawel Stocki ABSTRACT: Single domain shark VNAR antibodies can offer a viable alternative to conventional Ig-based monoclonal antibodies in treating COVID-19 disease during the current

Approaching the “real” state of elasmobranch fisheries and trade

Approaching the “real” state of elasmobranch fisheries and trade

Approaching the “real” state of elasmobranch fisheries and trade: A case study from the Mediterranean I. Giovos, R.N. Aga Spyridopoulou, N. Doumpas, K. Glaus, P. Kleitou, Z. Kazlari, D. Katsada, D. Loukovitis, I. Mantzouni, M. Papapetrou, Y.P. Papastamatiou, D.K. Moutopoulos ABSTRACT: Elasmobranchs are sensitive marine species due to their K-strategic life characteristics in combination with

Effects of climate-change driven gradual and acute temperature changes on shark and ray species

Effects of climate-change driven gradual and acute temperature changes on shark and ray species

Effects of climate-change driven gradual and acute temperature changes on shark and ray species Geoffrey J. Osgood, Easton R. White, Julia K. Baum ABSTRACT: Climate change is altering distributions and abundances of marine species through both gradual and acute changes in temperature and productivity. Due to their high mobility and metabolic rates, elasmobranchs (sharks and

Identifying shark species responsible for fisheries depredation off Southeast Queensland, Australia

Identifying shark species responsible for fisheries depredation off Southeast Queensland, Australia

Identifying shark species responsible for fisheries depredation off Southeast Queensland, Australia Jaeden L Vardon, Samuel M Williams, Daniel J Bucher, Jess A T Morgan ABSTRACT: Anecdotal reports from fishers in Southeast Queensland, Australia suggest that shark depredation is a significant issue, however little is known about which species are responsible for depredating catches. This research

Ocean warming impairs the predator avoidance behaviour of elasmobranch embryos

Ocean warming impairs the predator avoidance behaviour of elasmobranch embryos

Ocean warming impairs the predator avoidance behaviour of elasmobranch embryos Daniel M Ripley, Sara De Giorgio, Kirstin Gaffney, Lowri Thomas, Holly A Shiels ABSTRACT: Embryogenesis is a vulnerable stage in elasmobranch development due in part to high predation mortality. Embryonic elasmobranchs respond to potential predators by displaying a freezing behaviour, characterized by the cessation of

Temporal and spatial variability of whale shark aggregation in the South Ari Marine Protected Area

Temporal and spatial variability of whale shark aggregation in the South Ari Marine Protected Area

Analysis of the temporal and spatial variability of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) aggregation in the South Ari Marine Protected Area, Maldives, Indian Ocean S. Valsecchi, C. Lanfredi, A. Azzellino, A. Savini, V. A. Bracchi, F. Marchese, J. Hancock, R. Rees, C. Cánovas Pérez ABSTRACT: Whale sharks are known to aggregate in coastal areas. In the

Redefining provisioning in marine wildlife tourism

Redefining provisioning in marine wildlife tourism

Redefining provisioning in marine wildlife tourism Lauren Meyer, Christine Barry, Gonzalo Araujo, Adam Barnett, Juerg M. Brunnschweiler, Andrew Chin, Austin Gallagher, Teleah Healy, Alison Kock, David Newsome, Alessandro Ponzo, Charlie Huveneers ABSTRACT: Wildlife tourism uses various stimuli to attract species and facilitate close encounters. Such activities are often referred to as provisioning, however the term

Challenges and conservation potential of shark-diving tourism in the Macaronesian archipelagos

Challenges and conservation potential of shark-diving tourism in the Macaronesian archipelagos

Challenges and conservation potential of shark-diving tourism in the Macaronesian archipelagos Pedro G. Gonzáles-Mantilla, Austin J. Gallagher. Carmelo J. León, Gabriel M.S. Vianna ABSTRACT: Macaronesia is formed by some of most isolated oceanic islands of the Atlantic Ocean. This region is typically heavily exploited by fisheries; however, in recent years, marine wildlife tourism has become

Delimiting cryptic species within the brown-banded bamboo shark in the Indo-Australian region

Delimiting cryptic species within the brown-banded bamboo shark in the Indo-Australian region

Delimiting cryptic species within the brown-banded bamboo shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum in the Indo-Australian region with mitochondrial DNA and genome-wide SNP approaches Fahmi, Ian R. Tibbetts, Michael B. Bennett, Christine L. Dudgeon ABSTRACT: Background Delimiting cryptic species in elasmobranchs is a major challenge in modern taxonomy due the lack of available phenotypic features. Employing stand-alone genetics

Two new species of freshwater stingrays of the genus Paratrygon from the Orinoco basin

Two new species of freshwater stingrays of the genus Paratrygon from the Orinoco basin

Two new species of freshwater stingrays of the genus Paratrygon (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) from the Orinoco basin, with comments on the taxonomy of Paratrygon aiereba Thiago Silva Loboda, Carlos A. Lasso, Ricardo de Souza Rosa, Marcelo Rodrigues de Carvalho ABSTRACT: The genus Paratrygon, currently recognized as the sole monotypic genus of the family Potamotrygonidae, has a

Unified natural mortality estimation for teleosts and elasmobranchs

Unified natural mortality estimation for teleosts and elasmobranchs

Unified natural mortality estimation for teleosts and elasmobranchs Dureuil M, Aeberhard WH, Burnett KA, Hueter RE, Tyminski JP, Worm B ABSTRACT: Natural mortality, M, is a key parameter for the assessment and management of living resources but is difficult to observe directly. Therefore, M is often estimated indirectly from life history traits, and it is

Age and growth of the bull shark around Reunion Island

Age and growth of the bull shark around Reunion Island

Age and growth of the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) around Reunion Island, South West Indian Ocean Florian Hoarau, Audrey Darnaude, Thomas Poirout, Lou-Anne Jannel, Maylis Labonne, Sébastien Jaquemet ABSTRACT: Sharks exhibit varied demographic strategies depending on both the species and the population location, which make them more or less vulnerable to fishing. Accurate evaluation of

The Growth Parameters of the Mako Shark in the Moroccan Central Atlantic Coast

The Growth Parameters of the Mako Shark in the Moroccan Central Atlantic Coast

The Growth Parameters of the Mako Shark Isurus Oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) in the Moroccan Central Atlantic Coast Jihade Alahyene, Brahim Chiahou, Hammou El Habouz, Badreddine Mekyassi, Abdelbasset Ben-bani ABSTRACT: The present study was carried out through regular biological sampling operations of the mako shark during a period of 24 months (October 2017 – August 2019).

Etmopterus brosei sp. nov.: a new lanternshark from the SE Atlantic and SW Indian oceans

Etmopterus brosei sp. nov.: a new lanternshark from the SE Atlantic and SW Indian oceans

Etmopterus brosei sp. nov.: a new lanternshark (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) from the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans, with a revised key to the Etmopterus lucifer clade Ebert, D.A., Leslie, R.W. & Weigmann, S. ABSTRACT: A new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus brosei sp. nov. (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae), is described from the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans.