Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-08-27Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:00:02Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rosa_mr_me_rcla.pdf: 234358 bytes, checksum: ad7f4144b12ec3ad5c5897b261cf53b9 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Uma revisão taxonômica dos tubarões do gênero Mustelus, família Triakidae, que ocorrem na costa brasileira foi realizada, baseando-se em consulta as coleções ictiológicas brasileiras e três localizadas nos Estados Unidos. As características morfométricas, morfológicas e meristicas foram analisadas, sendo encontradas cinco espécies M. canis (Mitchell,1815); M. fasciatus Garman,1913; M. higmani Springer & Lowe,1963; M. norrisi Springer,1940 e M. schmitti Springer,1940. Uma nova chave para identificação das espécies brasileiras foi proposta. Novos dados de anatomia, morfometria e meristicos foram observados, bem como comparados com os dos espécimens que ocorrem no Atlântico Norte ocidental. Nove espécimes adicionais de M. norrisi foram encontrados e analisados. Diferenças substanciais para os exemplares brasileiros foram descritas. / The taxonomy of sharks of the genus Mustelus from Brazil was reviewed. Five species were identified M. norrisi Sringer,1940; M. canis Mitchell,1815; M. higmani Springer & Lowe,1963; M. schmitti Springer,1940 and M. fasciatus Garman,1913. A new identification key for species found in the Brazilian cost was proposed. New data on the distribution, anatomy, morfometry and meristic characteristics were noted, and compared to the ones of specimens found in North American waters. Strong differences between M. norrisi from North America and Brazilian one is described, and nine new specimens catalogued.

published_or_final_version / Zoology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The combined effects of food availability and predation risk on fish foraging behavior have been investigated via both laboratory and field experiments, primarily in temperate, freshwater systems and during daylight hours. In contrast, relatively little attention has been directed towards fish foraging decisions along subtropical shorelines, which serve as nursery grounds for a variety of economically important fishes, as well as at night, when many species emerge from refuges to feed. The mangrove-seagrass ecotone and adjacent seagrass beds constitute nocturnal feeding grounds for fish secondary-tertiary consumers. In subtropical Biscayne Bay, Florida (USA), I investigated the influences of food and risk on nocturnal seagrass use by gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus), great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), and seabream (Archosargus rhomboidalis) along a distance gradient, spanning from the mangrove fringe to 120 m from shore. This was accomplished by conducting a series of integrated field and laboratory studies, including: (1) nocturnal seine sampling to determine fish abundance patterns in relation to the mangrove-seagrass interface; (2) fish stomach content analysis to reveal feeding habits and trophic relationships; and (3) diel field tethering experiments to explore nearshore gradients in predation pressure. With these data I tested a priori predictions of fish distributions relative to food and predation risk that were generated from foraging theory: (1) fishes will be distributed across the distance gradient in proportion to their food supply (i.e., ideal free distribution, IFD); or (2) fishes will avoid high risk areas such that their abundances will be lower than predicted by food resources in high-risk habitats (i.e., food-risk trade-off). Results revealed that fish assemblage composition differed by season and distance from shore, with the zone nearest the mangroves generally harboring the lowest densities of late-stage juvenile fishes. Stomach content analysis demonstrated that gray snapper fed on a variety of small fishes and crustaceans, while bluestriped grunt fed primarily on caridean shrimp. Seabream fed almost exclusively on vegetation and great barracuda was almost entirely piscivorous; however, seasonal shifts in diet and feeding habits were evident. Seasonal shifts in major food resource use generally did not correspond with changes in relative abundance of food supply. Seasonal trophic niche breadth differences were evident for gray snapper, great barracuda and bluestriped grunt, while niche breadth was equivalent between seasons for seabream. Based on seasonal food supply in the environment, niche breadth values did not match basic foraging theory predictions, which state niche breadth should expand as preferred food resources become scarce. Tethering experiments indicated that predation rates were highest nearest the mangrove edge and decreased with increasing distance from shore. Moreover, predation pressure at night was nearly twice as high compared to the day. Testing these data against my predictions from foraging theory, I found that none of the fishes examined (gray snapper, seabream and bluestriped grunt) were distributed according to IFD. Seabream and gray snapper avoided foraging close to the mangrove-edge, where their food was most abundant, but risk was highest. Bluestriped grunt appeared to forage randomly across the distance gradient despite spatial variation in food and predation risk. Overall, results suggest that: (1) spatial patterns of utilization of seagrass habitat adjacent to the mangrove-seagrass ecotone differs by species, life-stage and season; (2) Seasonal shifts in diet were not correlated with changes in relative abundance of food supply; (3) trophic niche breadth of late juveniles did not expand with declines in their food resources; (4) the mangrove-seagrass ecotone appears to serve as a hunting corridor for predators targeting juvenile fishes moving about the mangroves; and (5) two of the three species examined appeared to give up food in return for safety by avoiding foraging near the mangroves, despite high food availability.

published_or_final_version / Zoology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Marine tourism is an expanding segment of both international and domestic tourism in KwaZulu-Natal and can be of valuable contribution to the national and local economy, but there are also concern s about its sustainability. Two of the most popular marine activities in KwaZulu-Natal are diving and recreational fishing. However, these two different user groups can also create conflicts as they have very different user practices in relation to the same marine area and its resources. While certain marine regions along the coast have been declared marine protected areas with site specific management plans, other popular marine areas remain almost unmanaged. Shelly Beach on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal is the most popular boat launching site on the Natal coastline with both divers and recreational fishermen visiting a fossilised sand dune reef called Protea Banks which is situated 7 to 8 km off-shore from Shelly Beach. The reef is famous for its abundance of fish as the attraction for fishermen and big sharks attracting divers. A controversial topic in association with Protea Banks is its shark population. The divers are concerned that the number of sharks is decreasing, while the fishermen are concerned about there being too many sharks eating their hooked fish before they can boat their catch. This study looks at marine tourism and sharks using Protea Banks as a case study for marine tourism and management. The focus is on stakeholders' and different marine user groups' opinions on management, marine resource protection and user conflict. The issue of sharks and sustainability in association with both diving and recreational fishing is also investigated. The study shows that the stakeholders have developed a system of self-regulation based on the experience gained from their utilisation of Protea Banks. The stakeholders prefer to maintain this system rath er than the authorities declaring the area a marine protected area or in other ways further involve the authorities. The various stakeholders express different but specific environmental concerns including carrying capaci ty, seasonality and unsustainable pressure during the peak tourist season, shark and fish management, and lack of enforcement of regulations. The study concludes with recommendations toward s a site specific management plan for Protea Banks. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Florida, 1991. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-102).

Orientador: Fausto Foresti / Coorientador: Fernando Fernandes Mendonça / Banca: Maria Iracilda da Cunha Sampaio / Banca: Alexandre Wagner Silva Hilsdorf / Resumo: As populações de tubarões têm sofrido um acentuado declínio nas últimas décadas principalmente devido à pressão da pesca para provisão de alimento e à valorização das nadadeiras no mercado asiático. Como as espécies deste grupo se caracterizam por sua suscetibilidade aos efeitos da sobre-pesca, questões relacionadas ao status populacional são essenciais para o manejo correto dos estoques pesqueiros. Para a identificação destes estoques, ferramentas genéticas que acessam a variabilidade das espécies são eficientes e têm sido amplamente utilizadas. Considerando os fortes indícios de esgotamento populacional do tubarão-raposa Alopias superciliosus e a falta de informações que permitem viabilizar planos de conservação, o presente estudo buscou abordar questões relacionadas à dinâmica populacional da espécie no Oceano Atlântico utilizando a região controle do DNA mitocondrial como marcador molecular. Assim, 114 indivíduos de A. superciliosus foram analisados utilizando sequências nucleotídicas da região controle (D-loop) do DNA mitocondrial. Os 913 pares de bases analisáveis desta região do genoma permitiram a caracterização de apenas oito haplótipos em todas as amostras analisadas, sendo um único destes haplótipos compartilhado por 91,5% dos indivíduos. Os resultados indicam a ocorrência de uma baixa variabilidade genética (π = 0,00140 e h=0,152 ± 0,0046), a ausência de estruturação populacional (valores de FST e ΦST não significativos) e a caracterização de um único estoque pesqueiro na região abrangida pela amostragem no Oceano Atlântico. As análises também revelaram a existência de duas linhagens de DNAmt distintas, separadas por um mínimo de 9 mutações e com aproximadamente 1,2% de diferença genética, sendo uma delas composta por apenas 6 indivíduos, originando... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Populations of several shark species have decreased in the last decades, especially because of the fishing pressure and Asian demand for their fins. Since this group is susceptible to overfishing due to its biological traits, studies regarding its populations distribution are necessary for the appropriate management of their fish stocks. Genetic tools addressing species variability are efficient and widely used to the identification of fisheries stocks. Considering the lack of information about A. superciliosus populations, the remarkable decline in the abundance of this species around the world, and the lack of information management and conservation strategies, the aim of this study was solve issues about the populational dynamic of the species in the Atlantic Ocean. Using mitochondrial DNA control region (D-loop) sequences with 913 bp from 114 individuals of Alopias superciliosus, only eight haplotypes were found, which just one was shared by 91.5% of the analyzed sharks. The results suggest a low genetic variability (π = 0.00140 and h=0.152 ± 0.0046), no populational structure (FST values and ΦST no significant), and the characterization of a single A. superciliosus stock in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, it was found two distinct mtDNA lineages, separated by a minimum of nine mutational steps and about 1.2% genetic difference, one of which consists of only six individuals, resulting in five distinct haplotypes. Thus, this lineage showing rare haplotypes could be related to recent migration events from the Indian Ocean, which would have occurred right after the last glaciations, in warming periods at the region of the Benguela Upwelling. At the other hand, migration processes also can be happening nowadays, with intermittent transference of warm waters from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic region. Such events could be... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-07-31Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:33:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 morales_mja_me_botib.pdf: 825355 bytes, checksum: 4a475b18f35e03371b78505d759221e5 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / As populações de tubarões têm sofrido um acentuado declínio nas últimas décadas principalmente devido à pressão da pesca para provisão de alimento e à valorização das nadadeiras no mercado asiático. Como as espécies deste grupo se caracterizam por sua suscetibilidade aos efeitos da sobre-pesca, questões relacionadas ao status populacional são essenciais para o manejo correto dos estoques pesqueiros. Para a identificação destes estoques, ferramentas genéticas que acessam a variabilidade das espécies são eficientes e têm sido amplamente utilizadas. Considerando os fortes indícios de esgotamento populacional do tubarão-raposa Alopias superciliosus e a falta de informações que permitem viabilizar planos de conservação, o presente estudo buscou abordar questões relacionadas à dinâmica populacional da espécie no Oceano Atlântico utilizando a região controle do DNA mitocondrial como marcador molecular. Assim, 114 indivíduos de A. superciliosus foram analisados utilizando sequências nucleotídicas da região controle (D-loop) do DNA mitocondrial. Os 913 pares de bases analisáveis desta região do genoma permitiram a caracterização de apenas oito haplótipos em todas as amostras analisadas, sendo um único destes haplótipos compartilhado por 91,5% dos indivíduos. Os resultados indicam a ocorrência de uma baixa variabilidade genética (π = 0,00140 e h=0,152 ± 0,0046), a ausência de estruturação populacional (valores de FST e ΦST não significativos) e a caracterização de um único estoque pesqueiro na região abrangida pela amostragem no Oceano Atlântico. As análises também revelaram a existência de duas linhagens de DNAmt distintas, separadas por um mínimo de 9 mutações e com aproximadamente 1,2% de diferença genética, sendo uma delas composta por apenas 6 indivíduos, originando... / Populations of several shark species have decreased in the last decades, especially because of the fishing pressure and Asian demand for their fins. Since this group is susceptible to overfishing due to its biological traits, studies regarding its populations distribution are necessary for the appropriate management of their fish stocks. Genetic tools addressing species variability are efficient and widely used to the identification of fisheries stocks. Considering the lack of information about A. superciliosus populations, the remarkable decline in the abundance of this species around the world, and the lack of information management and conservation strategies, the aim of this study was solve issues about the populational dynamic of the species in the Atlantic Ocean. Using mitochondrial DNA control region (D-loop) sequences with 913 bp from 114 individuals of Alopias superciliosus, only eight haplotypes were found, which just one was shared by 91.5% of the analyzed sharks. The results suggest a low genetic variability (π = 0.00140 and h=0.152 ± 0.0046), no populational structure (FST values and ΦST no significant), and the characterization of a single A. superciliosus stock in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, it was found two distinct mtDNA lineages, separated by a minimum of nine mutational steps and about 1.2% genetic difference, one of which consists of only six individuals, resulting in five distinct haplotypes. Thus, this lineage showing rare haplotypes could be related to recent migration events from the Indian Ocean, which would have occurred right after the last glaciations, in warming periods at the region of the Benguela Upwelling. At the other hand, migration processes also can be happening nowadays, with intermittent transference of warm waters from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic region. Such events could be... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The taxonomy of gnathiids is solely based on the morphology of the adult males since they are more frequently encountered than the other life stages, therefore female and larval gnathiid descriptions are sometimes absent from species descriptions. Thirty-eight of the almost 180 known gnathiid species are described from Australian waters, with 12 of these collected from the Great Barrier Reef. The only described species parasitising elasmobranchs is Gnathia pantherina Smit and Basson, 2002, a species found on South African sharks and rays. Scientists have examined the relationships between host size and abundance of parasitic larval gnathiid isopods on Heron Island. This is an indication that gnathiids do feed on elasmobranchs but the lack of sampling plays a big role. The objectives of this study are therefore to identify three gnathiid species found on various elasmobranchs from Australia. A phylogenetic analysis will be conducted to confirm whether these species belong to the genus Gnathia Leach, 1814, to determine the relationship between Australian and South African gnathiids species and to see whether there is a correlation between phylogeny and geographic distribution of members of this genus. The statistical analysis using Primer version 5 will be used to provide the specific characteristics responsible for these species groupings seen in the cladograms. Gnathiids were collected from 1996 to 1998 and during March 2002 from various elasmobranchs from Australia. The eight shark and ray species collected from Lizard Island, Heron Island (Shark Bay), and Moreton Bay were; Carcharinus amblyrhynchos Bleeker, 1856, Triaenodon obesus Rüppell, 1837, Rhynchobatus djiddensis Forsskål, 1775, Rhinobatos typus Bennett, 1830, Himantura fai Jordan & Seale, 1906, Taeniura lymma Forsskål, 1775, Urogymnus asperrimus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 and Pastinachus sephen Forsskål, 1775. Larval gnathiid isopods were found attached to the gill filaments and septum of all sharks collected, their numbers and attachment positions were also recorded. After removal from hosts, larvae were kept in fresh sea water until they moulted into adult stages. The males did not conform to descriptions of any known gnathiid species, and were considered to be new to science. The descriptions were based on light and scanning electron microscopy observations. Summary 9 A phylogenetic analysis was conducted to determine where these new species fit into the genus Gnathia and where the new genus Tenerognathia Tanaka, 2005 fits into the family Gnathiidae. The species Caecognathia cryptopais Barnard, 1925 was also included in this study to verify whether this species belongs to the genus Caecognathia Dollfus, 1901. Primer version 5 was used to determine the characteristics responsible for the specific groupings identified by the phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that these three species belong to the genus Gnathia and are only found on Australian elasmobranchs. The findings also contributed to new host records for gnathiids. According to the phylogenetic analysis these new species grouped with the only known elasmobranch gnathiid from southern Africa, G. pantherina. These species made a separate grouping within the Gnathia genus indicating that they have specific characteristics that set them apart from other gnathiids. These characteristics were identified using Primer version 5. It appears that elasmobranch gnathiids are to some extent bigger than teleost gnathiids, have a longer pleotelson and their pylopod’s 2nd article is not circular or conical. However, G. pantherina‘s (from southern Africa) 2nd pylopod article is circular as well as gnathiids from teleosts from the rest of South Africa and Australia. This signifies that this characteristic is host and location specific. The genus Tenerognathia grouped within the genus Gnathia. This might be due to incomplete characteristics information that makes up the data-matrix. The species Caecognathia cryptopais grouped within the genus Caecognathia, confirming that its classification was correct. In conclusion these species are newly described gnathiid species found for the first time on Australian elasmobranchs. This brings the number of known gnathiid species found on elasmobranchs to four. All three life stages were described for Gnathia trimaculata sp. n. and Gnathia australis sp. n and only the male and larvae for Gnathia nigrograndilaris sp. n. The phylogenetic analysis confirmed that there is a correlation between Australian and South African elasmobranch gnathiids, elasmobranchs gnathiids and between phylogeny and geographical distribution. / Dr. N.J. Smit

The Red Sea has long been recognized as a global hotspot of marine biodiversity. Ongoing overfishing, however, is threatening this unique ecosystem, recently leading to the identification of the Red Sea as one of three major hotspots of extinction risk for sharks and rays worldwide. Elasmobranch catches in Saudi Arabian Red Sea waters are unregulated, often misidentified and unrecorded, resulting in a lack of species-specific landings information, which would be vital for the formulation of effective management strategies. Here we employed an integrated approach of fisheries dependent and independent survey methods combined with molecular tools to provide biological, ecological and fisheries data to aid in the assessment of the status of elasmobranch populations in the Red Sea. Over the course of two years, we conducted market surveys at the biggest Saudi Arabian fish market in Jeddah. Market landings were dominated by, mostly immature individuals - implying both recruitment and growth overfishing. Additionally, we employed baited remote underwater video (BRUVS) and longline surveys along almost the entire length of the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia as well as at selected reef systems in Sudan. The comparison of catch per unit effort (CPUE) data for Saudi Arabian Red Sea BRUVS and longline surveys to published data originating from non-Red Sea ocean systems revealed CPUE values several orders of magnitude lower for both survey methods in the Red Sea compared to other locations around the world. Finally, we infered the regional population structure of four commercially important shark species between the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean.We genotyped nearly 2000 individuals at the mitochondrial control region as well as a total of 20 microsatellite loci. Genetic homogeneity could not be rejected for any of the four species across the spatial comparison. Based on high levels of region-wide exploitation, we suggest that, for management purposes, the population structure of all four species should be considered as single stock in the three marginal seas surrounding Arabia. Overall, our combined results indicate a severe depletion of sharks in Saudi Arabian Red Sea waters, likely caused by drastic overfishing of elasmobranch populations.