Correction to: Important juvenile manta ray habitat at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

In a recent paper (Stewart et al. 2018), we reported on the presence of juvenile manta rays in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) and suggested that the region serves as a nursery habitat for the species. Unfortunately we failed to consider the Masters thesis by Jeffrey N Childs (2001) entitled: ‘The occurrence, habitat use, and behavior of sharks and rays associating with topographic highs in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico’. Childs (2001) was the first to document the presence of juvenile manta rays at the Flower Garden Banks and he suggested that the Flower Garden Banks serve as a nursery habitat for juvenile manta rays. We regret this oversight and apologize for failing to acknowledge and cite this relevant work.