Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.

Sharks have declined worldwide and remote sanctuaries are becoming crucial for shark conservation. The southwest Indian Ocean is a hotspot of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity mostly impacted by anthropogenic damage. Sharks were observed during surveys performed from April to June 2013 in the...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Mireille M M Guillaume, Bernard Séret
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ab51082f4a4c46b1ab3553b9a2dfae04
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:ab51082f4a4c46b1ab3553b9a2dfae04
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ab51082f4a4c46b1ab3553b9a2dfae042021-12-02T20:13:49ZObservations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0253867https://doaj.org/article/ab51082f4a4c46b1ab3553b9a2dfae042021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253867https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Sharks have declined worldwide and remote sanctuaries are becoming crucial for shark conservation. The southwest Indian Ocean is a hotspot of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity mostly impacted by anthropogenic damage. Sharks were observed during surveys performed from April to June 2013 in the virtually pristine coral reefs around Europa Island, a remote Marine Protected Area located in the southern Mozambique Channel. Observation events comprised 67 1-hour scientific dives between 5 - 35m depth and 7 snorkeling inspections, as well as 4 dinghy-based observations in the shallow lagoon. In a period of 24 days, 475 sharks were tallied. Carcharhinus galapagensis was most encountered and contributed 20% of the abundance during diving, followed by C. albimarginatus (10%). Both species were more abundant between 11-14h, and on the exposed sides of the island. Numbers of Sphyrna lewini were highest with 370 individuals windward and leeward, mostly schooling. S. lewini aggregations in the area are hypothesized to be attracted to the seamount archipelago offering favorable conditions for deep incursions and of which Europa Island forms part. C. amblyrhynchos, Galeocerdo cuvier and S. mokarran were uncommon, while there was an additional observation of Rhincodon typus. The lagoon of Europa was a nursery ground for C. melanopterus where it was the only species present. A total of 8 species was recorded, contributing to the shark diversity of 15 species reported from Europa since 1952 in the scientific and gray literature. Overall, with the occurrence of several species of apex predators in addition to that of R. typus, large schools of S. lewini, fair numbers of reef sharks and a nursery of C. melanopterus, Europa's sharks constitute a significant reservoir of biodiversity, which contributes to preserve the functioning of the ecosystem. Our observations highlight the relevance of Europa Island for shark conservation and the need for shark-targeted management in the EEZ of both Europa and Bassas da India.Mireille M M GuillaumeBernard SéretPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 10, p e0253867 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Mireille M M Guillaume Bernard Séret Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.
description	Sharks have declined worldwide and remote sanctuaries are becoming crucial for shark conservation. The southwest Indian Ocean is a hotspot of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity mostly impacted by anthropogenic damage. Sharks were observed during surveys performed from April to June 2013 in the virtually pristine coral reefs around Europa Island, a remote Marine Protected Area located in the southern Mozambique Channel. Observation events comprised 67 1-hour scientific dives between 5 - 35m depth and 7 snorkeling inspections, as well as 4 dinghy-based observations in the shallow lagoon. In a period of 24 days, 475 sharks were tallied. Carcharhinus galapagensis was most encountered and contributed 20% of the abundance during diving, followed by C. albimarginatus (10%). Both species were more abundant between 11-14h, and on the exposed sides of the island. Numbers of Sphyrna lewini were highest with 370 individuals windward and leeward, mostly schooling. S. lewini aggregations in the area are hypothesized to be attracted to the seamount archipelago offering favorable conditions for deep incursions and of which Europa Island forms part. C. amblyrhynchos, Galeocerdo cuvier and S. mokarran were uncommon, while there was an additional observation of Rhincodon typus. The lagoon of Europa was a nursery ground for C. melanopterus where it was the only species present. A total of 8 species was recorded, contributing to the shark diversity of 15 species reported from Europa since 1952 in the scientific and gray literature. Overall, with the occurrence of several species of apex predators in addition to that of R. typus, large schools of S. lewini, fair numbers of reef sharks and a nursery of C. melanopterus, Europa's sharks constitute a significant reservoir of biodiversity, which contributes to preserve the functioning of the ecosystem. Our observations highlight the relevance of Europa Island for shark conservation and the need for shark-targeted management in the EEZ of both Europa and Bassas da India.
format	article
author	Mireille M M Guillaume Bernard Séret
author_facet	Mireille M M Guillaume Bernard Séret
author_sort	Mireille M M Guillaume
title	Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.
title_short	Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.
title_full	Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.
title_fullStr	Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.
title_full_unstemmed	Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.
title_sort	observations of sharks (elasmobranchii) at europa island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern mozambique channel.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ab51082f4a4c46b1ab3553b9a2dfae04
work_keys_str_mv	AT mireillemmguillaume observationsofsharkselasmobranchiiateuropaislandaremotemarineprotectedareaimportantforsharkconservationinthesouthernmozambiquechannel AT bernardseret observationsofsharkselasmobranchiiateuropaislandaremotemarineprotectedareaimportantforsharkconservationinthesouthernmozambiquechannel
_version_	1718374728013447168

Observations of sharks (Elasmobranchii) at Europa Island, a remote marine protected area important for shark conservation in the southern Mozambique Channel.

Ejemplares similares