Remote hideaways: first insights into the population sizes, habitat use and residency of manta rays at aggregation areas in Seychelles

IF 2.1 3区生物学 Q2 MARINE & FRESHWATER BIOLOGY Marine Biology Pub Date : 2024-02-26 DOI:10.1007/s00227-024-04405-6

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Abstract

Understanding the aggregation and habitat use patterns of a species can aid the formulation and improved design of management strategies aiming to conserve vulnerable populations. We used photo-identification techniques and a novel remote underwater camera system to examine the population sizes, patterns of residency and habitat use of oceanic (Mobula birostris) and reef (Mobula alfredi) manta rays in Seychelles (5.42°S; 53.30°E) between July 2006 and December 2018. Sightings of M. birostris were infrequent (n = 5), suggesting that if aggregation areas for this species exist, they occur outside of the boundary of our study. A total of 236 individual M. alfredi were identified across all surveys, 66.5% of which were sighted at D’Arros Island (Amirante Group) and 22.5% at St. François Atoll (Alphonse Group). Males and females were evenly represented within the identified population. M. alfredi visited a cleaning station at D’Arros Island less frequently during dawn and dusk than at midday, likely due to the adoption of a crepuscular foraging strategy. The remote and isolated nature of the Amirante and Alphonse Group aggregation areas, coupled with the lack of a targeted mobulid fishery in Seychelles, suggests that with appropriate regulations and monitoring, the marine protected areas gazetted within these two groups will benefit the conservation of M. alfredi in Seychelles.

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遥远的藏身之处：首次了解塞舌尔蝠鲼聚集区的种群数量、栖息地使用和居住情况

摘要了解一个物种的聚集和栖息地利用模式有助于制定和改进旨在保护脆弱种群的管理策略。2006 年 7 月至 2018 年 12 月期间，我们利用照片识别技术和新型远程水下摄像系统，考察了塞舌尔（5.42°S; 53.30°E）的大洋蝠鲼（Mobula birostris）和珊瑚礁蝠鲼（Mobula alfredi）的种群数量、居住模式和栖息地利用情况。生物蝠鲼的目击次数很少（n = 5），这表明如果存在该物种的聚集区，它们也出现在我们研究的边界之外。在所有调查中，共发现了 236 只阿尔弗雷迪蝠鲼个体，其中 66.5% 出现在达罗斯岛（阿米兰特群岛），22.5% 出现在圣弗朗索瓦环礁（阿尔方斯群岛）。在已确认的种群中，雌雄数量相当。阿尔弗雷迪蝠王在达罗斯岛清洁站的活动频率在黎明和黄昏低于正午，这可能是由于它们采取了昼伏夜出的觅食策略。阿米兰特组和阿尔方斯组聚集区地处偏远且与世隔绝，再加上塞舌尔缺乏有针对性的胭脂鱼捕捞活动，这表明如果有适当的法规和监测，在这两个组内公告的海洋保护区将有利于塞舌尔阿尔弗雷迪胭脂鱼的保护。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Marine Biology 生物-海洋与淡水生物学

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

8.30%

发文量

133

审稿时长

3-6 weeks

期刊介绍： Marine Biology publishes original and internationally significant contributions from all fields of marine biology. Special emphasis is given to articles which promote the understanding of life in the sea, organism-environment interactions, interactions between organisms, and the functioning of the marine biosphere.