Aspects of Smalltooth Sawfish Life History in South Florida Inferred from Analyses of Vertebrae PDF Download

Author: Rachel Marie Scharer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Pristis pectinata
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
ABSTRACT: Smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, is the first elasmobranch listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act, yet basic life history data critical for its conservation and recovery are lacking. To address this lack of information, I examined aspects of smalltooth sawfish life history via analysis of vertebrae collected from deceased fish (n = 15). First, I estimated fish age by counting opaque bands in vertebrae sections. Age estimates ranged from 0.4 to 14.1 years for fish that ranged in size between 0.60 and 4.35 m total length. A von Bertalanffy growth function fit to size at age data resulted in parameter estimates of 4.65 m for L, and 0.206 for K, and - 0.80 y for t0. Rostral teeth were also examined for aging but no opaque zones were present. Analysis of vertebrae sections with laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry also was conducted to infer fish salinity history based on Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca ratios across vertebrae transects. The Ba:Ca ratios showed no patterns or peaks consistent with salinity. However, a consistent pattern existed within Sr:Ca among vertebra samples for the first two years of life, with peaks of high and low Sr:Ca either indicating migrations or seasonally variable estuarine salinity.

Author: Hermann Ehrlich
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9400757301
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 439

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Book Description
This is the second monograph by the author on biological materials of marine origin. The initial book is dedicated to the biological materials of marine invertebrates. This work is a source of modern knowledge on biomineralization, biomimetics and materials science with respect to marine vertebrates. For the first time in scientific literature the author gives the most coherent analysis of the nature, origin and evolution of biocomposites and biopolymers isolated from and observed in the broad variety of marine vertebrate organisms (fish, reptilian, birds and mammals) and within their unique hierarchically organized structural formations. There is a wealth of new and newly synthesized information, including dozens of previously unpublished images of unique marine creatures including extinct, extant and living taxa and their biocomposite-based structures from nano- to micro – and macroscale. This monograph reviews the most relevant advances in the marine biological materials research field, pointing out several approaches being introduced and explored by distinct modern laboratories.

Author: C. Herb Ward
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1493934562
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 948

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Book Description
This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. The Gulf of Mexico is an open and dynamic marine ecosystem rich in natural resources but heavily impacted by human activities, including agricultural, industrial, commercial and coastal development. The Gulf of Mexico has been continuously exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons for millions of years from natural oil and gas seeps on the sea floor, and more recently from oil drilling and production activities located in the water near and far from shore. Major accidental oil spills in the Gulf are infrequent; two of the most significant include the Ixtoc I blowout in the Bay of Campeche in 1979 and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010. Unfortunately, baseline assessments of the status of habitats and biota in the Gulf of Mexico before these spills either were not available, or the data had not been systematically compiled in a way that would help scientists assess the potential short-term and long-term effects of such events. This 2-volume series compiles and summarizes thousands of data sets showing the status of habitats and biota in the Gulf of Mexico before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Volume 2 covers historical data on commercial and recreational fisheries, with an analysis of marketing trends and drivers; ecology, populations and risks to birds, sea turtles and marine mammals in the Gulf; and diseases and mortalities of fish and other animals that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico.

Author: Merry Camhi
Publisher: IUCN
ISBN: 9782831704609
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Sharks and their relatives, the rays and chimaeras, are the diverse group of cartilaginous fishes that have evolved over 400 million years. Historically considered of low economic value to large-scale fisheries, today many of these fishes have become the target of directed commercial and recreational fisheries around the world, and they are increasingly taken in the by-catch of fisheries targeting other species. This report emphasizes the widely-acknowledged need to improve shark fishery monitoring, expand biological research and take management action. It serves as an introduction to the ecology, status and conservation of the sharks and their relatives for a general audience. Shark fisheries can only be managed sustainably, and shark populations remain viable, with the introduction of new conservation and management initiatives.

Author: Sarah L. Fowler
Publisher: IUCN
ISBN: 9782831706504
Category : Chondrichthyes
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
The Darwin Elasmobranch Biodiversity Conservation and Management project in Sabah held a three-day international seminar that included a one-day workshop in order to highlight freshwater and coastal elasmobranch conservation issues in the region and worldwide, to disseminate the result of the project to other Malaysian states and countries, and to raise awareness of the importance of considering aspects of elasmobranch biodiversity in the context of nature conservation, commercial fisheries management, and for subsistence fishing communities. These proceedings contain numerous peer-reviewed papers originally presented at the seminar, which cover a wide range of topics, with particular reference to species from freshwater and estuarine habitats. The workshop served to develop recommendations concerning the future prospects of elasmobranch fisheries, biodiversity, conservation and management. This paper records those conclusions, which highlight the importance of elasmobranchs as top marine predators and keystone species, noting that permanent damage to shark and ray populations are likely to have serious and unexpected negative consequences for commercial and subsistence yields of other important fish stocks.

Author: Fabrizio Serena
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251052914
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
This volume presents a fully illustrated field guide for the identification of the sharks and rays most relevant to the fisheries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. An extensive literature review was carried out for the preparation of this document. A total of 49 sharks, 34 batoids and 1 chimaera are fully treated. The presence of 5 sharks and 2 batoids included in this field guide, need, however, to be confirmed. The guide includes sections on technical terms and measurements for sharks and batoids, and fully illustrated keys to those orders and families that occur in the region. Each species account includes: at least one annotated illustration of the species highlighting its relevant identification characters; basic information on nomenclature, synonyms and possible misidentifications; FAO common names; basic information on size, habitat and biology, distribution, importance to fisheries, and conservation and exploitation status.

Author: Jeffrey C. Carrier
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420080482
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 748

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Book Description
Since the award-winning first volume, The Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives, published in 2004, the field has witnessed tremendous developments in research, rapid advances in technology, and the emergence of new investigators beginning to explore issues of biodiversity, distribution, physiology, and ecology in ways that eluded more traditional

Author: Michael Vecchione
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cephalopoda
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
The cephalopods found in neritic waters of the northeastern United States include myopsid and oegopsid squids, sepiolid squids, and octopods. A key with diagnostic illustrations is provided to aid in identification of the eleven species common in the neritic waters between Cape Hatteras and Nova Scotia; included also is information on two oceanic species that occur over the continental shelf in this area and that can be confused with similar-looking neritic species. Other sections comprise a glossary of taxonomic characters used for identification of these species, an annotated systematic checklist, and checklists of the 89 other oceanic species and 18 Carolinian and subtropical neritic species that might occur occasionally off the northeastern United States.

Author: Leonard J. V. Compagno
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251045435
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
An extensively rewritten, revised and updated version of the original FAO Catalogue of Sharks of the World. This volume reviews all 15 families, 25 genera and 57 species of living bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks, including certain well-established but currently undescribed species, mainly from Australia.

Author: Noga Stambler
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781612096445
Category : Marine ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Mediterranean Sea is considered the most threatened sea on Earth. This book presents a scientific look at the past, present and future changes occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, this book also gives a background description of the geology, physical oceanography, marine chemistry and marine biology of the Mediterranean Sea. It provides an up-to-date summary of the human (anthropogenic) factors affecting the Mediterranean marine environment, as well as an estimate of the future of the Mediterranean Sea as related to local and global changes, with an emphasis on climate change.