Palacios, M.D., J.D., Stewart, D.A., Croll, M.R., Cronin, A., Trejo-Ramírez, G.M.W., Stevens, N., Lezama-Ochoa, K.M., Zilliacus, R., González-Armas, G., Notarbartolo di Sciara & F., Galván-Magaña (2023). Manta and devil ray aggregations: conservation challenges and developments in the field. Frontiers in Marine Science. 10: 1148234. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1148234.
Marta D. Palacios 1, Joshua D. Stewart 2, Donald A. Croll 3, Melissa R. Cronin 4, Abel Trejo-Ramírez 5, Guy M. W. Stevens 2, Nerea Lezama-Ochoa 6, Kelly M. Zilliacus 3, Rogelio González-Armas 7, Guiseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara 8 y Felipe Galván-Magaña 9
Manta and devil rays (mobulids)are filter feeding elasmobranchs withextreme K-selective life historiesfound circumglobally from temperate to tropical waters. Their vulnerability tofisheries exploitation, bycatch, boat collisions, entanglement and unregulatedtourism is exacerbated by their aggregative behavior. Studies have identifiedaggregation sites around the world for all nine mobulid species, with thesegroupings varying from a few individuals to thousands. However, the terminologyused to define these aggregations and the drivers underpinning them remainunclear, hindering the development of effective management andconservation strategies. Here, weanalyze aggregation behavior for mobulid species, providing consistentdefinitions for grouping events and summarizing the existing research ondrivers and environmental factors triggering these events. We find that aggregation behaviors facilitate key life historyfunctions in mobulids, including feeding, courtship and mating, predationavoidance, cleaning, and thermoregulation. Conservation threats and management mitigation opportunitiesassociated with aggregations sites include fisheries, tourism, spatialprotection, and climate change. Finally, we highlight knowledge gaps for futureresearch prioritization and developments in the field for the identification ofaggregation sites, the study of aggregation size and demographics and thefunctions and timing of aggregations.
Palabras clave: Mobula; grouping behavior; Elasmobranch; social group; Management; feeding; courtship and mating; cleaning
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