Drivers of behaviour and spatial ecology of the small spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula)
| Autor: | Kenn Papadopoulo, David Villegas‐Ríos, Gonzalo Mucientes, Alina Hillinger, Alexandre Alonso‐Fernández |
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| Přispěvatelé: | European Commission, Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (España), Fundación Biodiversidad, Interreg VA España-Portugal POCTEP, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2023 |
| Předmět: | |
| Popis: | 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 table.-- This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License Shark populations have suffered dramatic declines across the world as a result of overfishing. Marine protected areas (MPAs) can help restore overfished populations; however, their effectiveness largely relies on understanding the ecology of the targeted species. This study investigated the spatial ecology of the intensely harvested but understudied small spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) through acoustic telemetry in the Cíes Islands, a small MPA in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. There were significant effects of diel, seasonal cycles, biotic (sex and total length) and abiotic (bottom sea temperature) variables on the spatial behaviour of S. canicula. The mean residency index was low (0.27) and movement patterns suggested a strong connection with inshore waters. While the probability of presence in the study area was mainly driven by sex (i.e. greater for females), a drastic increase in activity was observed at night (compared with daytime hours). The activity space decreased with larger body sizes. Warmer waters were related to higher activity levels and larger activity spaces. This study provides essential knowledge of the spatial behaviour of S. canicula, with significant implications for the conservation and management of this species. The results indicate that small MPAs may fail to protect the whole range of movements of S. canicula, but suggest a larger protection potential for females. To be effective for S. canicula conservation, MPAs should be appropriately sized and designed for the ranging behaviour of the target species in order to provide total protection. Temporal restrictions on fishing at night mirroring the peak activity pattern of S. canicula could be implemented to limit the probability of its capture K. Papadopoulo was supported by the European Union's Erasmus+ programme. This study was funded by the projects DESTAC and IGENTAC with the collaboration of the Fundación Biodiversidad, from the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (Spanish Government), through the Pleamar programme, cofounded by the FEMP. The acoustic telemetry array was supported by the ATLAZUL project (0755_ATLAZUL_6_E) co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP) 2014-2020. DVR has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 793627 (BEMAR) and from the programme IF_ERC from the Spanish National Research Council |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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