Investigation of juvenile Angelshark (Squatina squatina) habitat in the Canary Islands to inform protection of this Critically Endangered species.

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Investigation of juvenile Angelshark (Squatina squatina) habitat in the Canary Islands to inform protection of this Critically Endangered species. David J. Alvarado1*, Joanna Barker2, Eva Meyers3, Michael Sealey4 and Maria Belen Caro4 1 Instituto Universitario de Acuicultura Sostenible y Ecosistemas Marinos (IU-ECOAQUA), Spain 2 Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom 3 Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (LG), Germany 4 Other, Spain A unique stronghold for the Critically Endangered Angelshark (Squatina squatina) is found in the Canary Islands, where the species is still frequently encountered by divers and fishers. This provides a great opportunity to conduct research into Angelshark ecology, as limited understanding of Angelshark habitat use, movement and site fidelity at is a major factor preventing effective species protection and conservation. A key focus for Angel Shark Project: Canary Islands (ASP:CI) (a collaborative initiative between Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig and Zoological Society of London) is the investigation of juvenile Angelshark habitat in the region and identification of Angelshark nursery areas. The definition of shark nursery areas varies greatly in scientific literature, but ASP:CI have developed a multidisciplinary approach (using citizen science sightings, satellite imagery, focal surveys and mark-recapture techniques) to test the three nursery area criteria outlined in Heupel et al. 2007. Research over the last four years has identified that juvenile Angelsharks are present across a number of shallow, sheltered beaches in the Canary Islands. The team have identified 2 confirmed nursery areas, 13 potential nursery areas and 21 beaches where juvenile Angelsharks are observed. Mark-recapture work at the largest confirmed nursery area, Playa de Las Teresitas in Tenerife with 424 sharks tagged confirms that juvenile Angelsharks remain present for up to 15 months. A comparison of prey species composition was carried out between the different studied areas showing that the sand smelt (Atherina presbyter) was the most abundant species in 13 of the 15 areas studied, thus establishing a possible direct relationship between the two species. In addition, four species of the sparidae family were among the eight most abundant species. Data were used to develop a Guidance Document on the identification and protection of juvenile Angelshark habitat in the Canary Islands, which identifies eight key recommendations to improve protection of these areas. Keywords: Angelshark, juvenile, nursery areas, Canary island, mark-recapture Conference: XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) , Braga, Portugal, 9 Sep - 12 Sep, 2019. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Ecology, Biodiversity and Vulnerable Ecosystems Citation: Alvarado DJ, Barker J, Meyers E, Sealey M and Caro M (2019). Investigation of juvenile Angelshark (Squatina squatina) habitat in the Canary Islands to inform protection of this Critically Endangered species.. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) . doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.08.00021 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Jun 2019; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Dr. David J Alvarado, Instituto Universitario de Acuicultura Sostenible y Ecosistemas Marinos (IU-ECOAQUA), Las Palmas, Spain, david.jimenezalvarado@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers David J Alvarado Joanna Barker Eva Meyers Michael Sealey Maria Belen Caro Google David J Alvarado Joanna Barker Eva Meyers Michael Sealey Maria Belen Caro Google Scholar David J Alvarado Joanna Barker Eva Meyers Michael Sealey Maria Belen Caro PubMed David J Alvarado Joanna Barker Eva Meyers Michael Sealey Maria Belen Caro Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.