Special Issue "Rays and Sharks: Biology, Ecology, Conservation and Distribution of Predators"

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Conservation Biology and Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2023 | Viewed by 860

Special Issue Editors

Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli, 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: reproduction; histology; anatomy; elasmobranchs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli, 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: age; growth; conservation; elasmobranchs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Cartilaginous fish (sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras) occupy the top of aquatic food webs, playing an important functional role in the control of coastal and oceanic ecosystem structure and operation. They are also commonly recognized as extremely evocative species in most of the world’s cultures. Due to their k-selected life history, they are particularly sensitive to habitat degradation, pollution, and changes in biological communities’ compositions (e.g., alien species or biodiversity loss). Moreover, they are considered as bycatch for the majority of worldwide industrial and artisanal fisheries, with low rates of post-release survival, an issue that essentially led to a dramatic decline in many stocks. Nonetheless, data on their stock status still remain poor or nonexistent.

In this Special Issue, we invite contributors to submit research articles on life history traits (e.g., reproduction, age, and growth), trophic ecology, genetic information, and updated data on their distribution in order to collect information helpful to developing conservation plans for these top marine predators.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Cristina Porcu
Dr. Andrea Bellodi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cartilaginous fish
  • reproduction
  • age and growth
  • trophic ecology
  • genetic information
  • conservation
  • distribution
  • management

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Gradients of Variation in the At-Vessel Mortality Rate between Twelve Species of Sharks and Skates Sampled through a Fishery-Independent Trawl Survey in the Asinara Gulf (NW Mediterranean Sea)
Biology 2023, 12(3), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12030363 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 540
Abstract
Elasmobranchs are priority species for conservation due to their rapid decline determined by the unbalanced struggle between a fragile bio-ecology and strong anthropogenic impacts, such as bycatch from professional fishing. In this context, measuring species resistance to catch of poorly selective gear is [...] Read more.
Elasmobranchs are priority species for conservation due to their rapid decline determined by the unbalanced struggle between a fragile bio-ecology and strong anthropogenic impacts, such as bycatch from professional fishing. In this context, measuring species resistance to catch of poorly selective gear is of paramount importance. During June–October 2022, five experimental fishing campaigns were carried out in the Asinara Gulf (northern Sardinia) through 35 geographically and bathymetrically representative hauls of an area between 30 and 600 m in depth. Skates prevailed over sharks in the number of species, with seven and five species, respectively. We first evaluated the status of each individual with respect to stress due to the trawl’s catch using a three-graded scale. We also recorded individual biometrics (total and disk length, weight and sex, and maturity for males) on board by implementing the best practices in manipulating individuals for physiological recovery and release at sea. After capture, skates resulted in generally better conditions than sharks, although deepwater species of both groups exhibited a worse state than coastal species. The estimated vitality rates also depended on the size of the individuals. This work provides standardized data on the intermingled effect of size, species type, and inhabited depth on the resistance response of some elasmobranch species against capture by trawl fishery activities. Full article
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