The whitespotted eagle ray has been the only inshore stingray species in Bermuda for hundreds of years.
Not anymore, according to a study.
The presence of the Atlantic cownose ray in the area has been confirmed, 1,000km away from where they are normally found, along the continental shelf of the Atlantic US coast.
For fish and other water-breathing animals like sharks and rays, reaching reproductive maturity is a crucial milestone that impacts their entire life history. The size at which they reach maturity, coupled with their subsequent growth rate, affects their longevity and reproductive capacity. Now, researchers have pinpointed a specific pH threshold, termed the "reproductive respiration threshold" (RRT), which kickstarts the hormonal processes leading to maturation.
In a groundbreaking study led by the University of Vienna, researchers have unearthed evidence suggesting that the seas of the Jurassic era, some 150 million years ago, teemed with a diversity of ray species far beyond what was previously understood. The discovery of a new species, named Aellopobatis bavarica, provides fascinating insights into the evolutionary history of these ancient marine animals.
Elasmobranchs have become lucrative targets with the depletion of traditional fish stocks and the surge in the shark fin trade. Although, in recent decades, much scientific evidence has challenged traditional misconceptions, stereotyped media portrayals persist, and they hinder conservation efforts. So, this special issue was created to highlight the complex behaviour and cognition of sharks and rays.
The shark and ray population in the north Atlantic are in recovery, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.
Lead author Nathan Pacoureau, postdoctoral research fellow at Simon Fraser University (SFU), and his team came to this conclusion after analyzing trends in fishing pressure, fisheries management and population status for wide-ranging coastal sharks and rays in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Although manta rays are readily capable of long-distance movements of hundreds if not thousands of kilometres, most populations appear to be philopatric (tending to return to or remain near a particular site or area—ed.) with few examples of long-distance dispersal.
Oceanic manta rays, the largest ray species, were listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2018. In 2019, their threat category increased from vulnerable to endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
Gran Canaria is one of the most visited destinations in Europe, but far too many leave their dive gear at home! You should definitely bring it, because the island offers great diving with huge schools of fish, angelsharks, stingrays and great volcanic seascapes.
Gliding slowly over the rocky reef, I was mesmerised, watching all the colourful reef fishes going about their daily activities. I was so entranced that I was startled to look up and find I was on a collision course with a massive stingray. This was the first stingray I had ever seen, and the giant creature terrified me. In the second it took my panicking brain to work out what to do, the stingray suddenly saw me and also got a shock.
Scientists teamed up with local dive operators to source photographs of manta rays visiting the parks' waters and submit them to MantaMatcher.org - a crowdsourced online database for mantas and other rays.
As a result of these collaborative efforts, 1,085 individual manta rays were identified in Komodo National Park, Indonesia.
Gary Rose, a plastic surgeon, dive professional and researcher in marine microorganisms and large ocean apex predators, takes us on a delightful jaunt to Costa Rica to dive with giant mantas. He shares glimpses of the experience both above and below the waves.
