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Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries

Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries
Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries
Large pelagic sharks are declining in abundance in many oceans owing to fisheries exploitation. What is not known however is whether within-species geographical segregation of the sexes exacerbates this as a consequence of differential exploitation by spatially focused fisheries. Here we show striking sexual segregation in the fastest swimming shark, the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus, across the South Pacific Ocean. The novel finding of a sexual ‘line in the sea’ spans a historical longline-fishing intensity gradient, suggesting that differential exploitation of the sexes is possible, a phenomenon which may underlie changes in the shark populations observed elsewhere.

distribution, behaviour, sex ratio, sexual harassment, overfishing, conservation
1744-9561
156-159
Mucientes, Gonzales R
aa752875-7bda-4157-8a4a-d99a99f78c37
Queiroz, Nuno.
f36209dc-ab54-40b0-8d3c-08a73ba298ef
Sousa, Lara L
a00c03f3-6437-46d0-b8bc-8911a57804c5
Tarroso, Pedro
1e03e9eb-ce12-4eaa-be8d-c65b8426c53e
Sims, David W
7234b444-25e2-4bd5-8348-a1c142d0cf81
Mucientes, Gonzales R
aa752875-7bda-4157-8a4a-d99a99f78c37
Queiroz, Nuno.
f36209dc-ab54-40b0-8d3c-08a73ba298ef
Sousa, Lara L
a00c03f3-6437-46d0-b8bc-8911a57804c5
Tarroso, Pedro
1e03e9eb-ce12-4eaa-be8d-c65b8426c53e
Sims, David W
7234b444-25e2-4bd5-8348-a1c142d0cf81

Mucientes, Gonzales R, Queiroz, Nuno., Sousa, Lara L, Tarroso, Pedro and Sims, David W (2009) Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries. Biology Letters, 5 (2), 156-159. (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0761).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Large pelagic sharks are declining in abundance in many oceans owing to fisheries exploitation. What is not known however is whether within-species geographical segregation of the sexes exacerbates this as a consequence of differential exploitation by spatially focused fisheries. Here we show striking sexual segregation in the fastest swimming shark, the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus, across the South Pacific Ocean. The novel finding of a sexual ‘line in the sea’ spans a historical longline-fishing intensity gradient, suggesting that differential exploitation of the sexes is possible, a phenomenon which may underlie changes in the shark populations observed elsewhere.

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More information

Published date: 23 April 2009
Keywords: distribution, behaviour, sex ratio, sexual harassment, overfishing, conservation
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 340118
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/340118
ISSN: 1744-9561
PURE UUID: e1c07681-f5e5-437c-b820-051ad0f51ecf
ORCID for David W Sims: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0916-7363

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Jun 2012 15:34
Last modified: 19 Jun 2024 01:44

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Contributors

Author: Gonzales R Mucientes
Author: Nuno. Queiroz
Author: Lara L Sousa
Author: Pedro Tarroso
Author: David W Sims ORCID iD

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