Bridging disciplines to advance elasmobranch conservation: applications of physiological ecology

Lyons, Kady; Bigman, Jennifer S.; Kacev, Dovi; Mull, Christopher G.; Carlisle, Aaron B.; Imhoff, Johanna L.; Anderson, Jacob; Weng, Kevin C.; Galloway, Ashley S.; Cave, E. J.; Gunn, T R; Lowe, C. G.; Brill, Richard W.; Bedore, Christine N.

doi:10.1093/conphys/coz011

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…Measuring metabolic rate typically requires a laboratory setting or a highly controlled field setting, which is often difficult to implement for larger-bodied, more active species ( Carlson et al , 2004 ; Byrnes et al , 2020 ). Consequently, there are few (3%; 35 out of 1200) published metabolic rate estimates for sharks ( Bouyoucos et al , 2019 ; Lyons et al , 2019 ). However, the connection between morphology and metabolism is becoming increasingly apparent and facilitates examining respiratory physiology on longer, integrated time scales beyond acute ( Wegner, 2011 ; Killen et al , 2016 ; Bigman et al , 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gill slits provide a window into the respiratory physiology of sharks

VanderWright¹,

Bigman

Elcombe

et al. 2020

Conservation Physiology

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Metabolically important traits, such as gill surface area and metabolic rate, underpin life histories, population dynamics and extinction risk, as they govern the availability of energy for growth, survival and reproduction. Estimating both gill surface area and metabolic rate can be challenging, especially when working with large-bodied, threatened species. Ideally, these traits, and respiratory physiology in general, could be inferred from external morphology using a faster, non-lethal method. Gill slit height is quick to measure on live organisms and is anatomically connected to the gill arch. Here, we relate gill slit height and gill surface area for five Carcharhiniform sharks. We compared both total and parabranchial gill surface area to mean and individual gill slit height in physical specimens. We also compared empirical measurements of relative gill slit height (i.e. in proportion to total length) to those estimated from field guide illustrations to examine the potential of using anatomical drawings to measure gill slit height. We find strong positive relationships between gill slit height and gill surface area at two scales: (i) for total gill surface area and mean gill slit height across species and (ii) for parabranchial gill surface area and individual gill slit height within and across species. We also find that gill slit height is a consistent proportion of the fork length of physical specimens. Consequently, relative gill slit height measured from field guide illustrations proved to be surprisingly comparable to those measured from physical specimens. While the generality of our findings needs to be evaluated across a wider range of taxonomy and ecological lifestyles, they offer the opportunity that we might only need to go to the library and measure field guide illustrations to yield a non-lethal, first-order approximation of the respiratory physiology of sharks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gill slits provide a window into the respiratory physiology of sharks

VanderWright¹,

Bigman

Elcombe

et al. 2020

Conservation Physiology

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“…This phenomenon has been demonstrated with low pH-induced metabolic depression in isolated gill cells [82]. Given the large knowledge gaps concerning the mechanisms underpinning our results, we argue—as have others—that more multi-stressor studies are needed [12,13,83,84,85].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…Hypoxia likewise reduces fitness and can cause mortality events [9], while OA can impact various aspects of a species’ biology from behavior to growth rates [10]. A comprehensive understanding of the impacts of climate change on species and populations is, therefore, required both to manage fisheries effectively and to conserve ecologically and economically important resources [11,12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Effects of Acute Temperature Change and Elevated pCO2 on the Metabolic Rates and Hypoxia Tolerances of Clearnose Skate (Rostaraja eglanteria), Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), and Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata)

Schwieterman

Crear

Anderson

et al. 2019

Biology

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Understanding how rising temperatures, ocean acidification, and hypoxia affect the performance of coastal fishes is essential to predicting species-specific responses to climate change. Although a population’s habitat influences physiological performance, little work has explicitly examined the multi-stressor responses of species from habitats differing in natural variability. Here, clearnose skate (Rostaraja eglanteria) and summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) from mid-Atlantic estuaries, and thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) from the Gulf of Maine, were acutely exposed to current and projected temperatures (20, 24, or 28 °C; 22 or 30 °C; and 9, 13, or 15 °C, respectively) and acidification conditions (pH 7.8 or 7.4). We tested metabolic rates and hypoxia tolerance using intermittent-flow respirometry. All three species exhibited increases in standard metabolic rate under an 8 °C temperature increase (Q10 of 1.71, 1.07, and 2.56, respectively), although this was most pronounced in the thorny skate. At the lowest test temperature and under the low pH treatment, all three species exhibited significant increases in standard metabolic rate (44–105%; p < 0.05) and decreases in hypoxia tolerance (60–84% increases in critical oxygen pressure; p < 0.05). This study demonstrates the interactive effects of increasing temperature and changing ocean carbonate chemistry are species-specific, the implications of which should be considered within the context of habitat.

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“…Physiological assessments are paramount in understanding many aspects of shark behavior, migration, and stress responses, among others. In fact, recently physiology has been brought forth as indispensable in addressing current and future anthropogenic stressors that both directly and indirectly affect elasmobranchs ( Lyons et al, 2019 ), as it is clear that physiological impairments may significantly compromise fitness parameters and negatively affect population recruitment ( Wosnick et al, 2021 ). Expansion of comparative studies of hormone levels and migratory behavior, increasing the number of captured and tagged animals, as well as including those that have already reached sexual maturity, are strongly suggested.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Almost nothing is known about the tiger shark in South Atlantic waters

Balanin

Hauser‐Davis

Giareta

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) has been relatively well assessed concerning biology and ecology aspects in both Atlantic and Pacific North America and in Caribbean waters. The amount of data in these regions has led to the species protection under capture quotas and with the creation of sanctuaries. The reality in developing countries, however, is the exact opposite, with scarce information on the species in the southern hemisphere, namely South American and African waters. In these regions, protection measures are insufficient, and studies on tiger shark biology and ecology are scarce, significantly hindering conservation and management efforts. Thus, the aim of this study was to compile scientific literature on the tiger shark in the South Atlantic and discuss the impact of these data (or lack thereof) distributed within a total of ten research categories for guiding management plans. In total, 41 scientific publications on different G. cuvier biology and ecology aspects were obtained. The most studied topics were Feeding Ecology (n = 12), followed by Human Interactions (n = 8), and Movements and Migration (n = 7). Northeastern Brazil (Southwest Atlantic) was the most researched area, probably due to the higher coastal abundance of tiger sharks in this area, alongside a high number of recorded attacks, justifying funding for studies in the region. No studies carried out in other South American or African countries were found. It is important to mention that even though some research topics are relatively well covered, a severe knowledge gap is noted for risk assessments and fisheries management, with a proposition for the implementation of sanctuaries noted. This is, however, particularly worrisome, as the South Atlantic is mostly unexplored in this regard for tiger sharks. It is also important to note how different the attention given to this species is in the North Atlantic when compared to the South region. Lastly, we highlight that the existence of sub-populations, the lack of migratory corridors geographically connecting distinct areas used by the species, and the lack of fisheries statistics on tiger shark landings, all increase the vulnerability of this species in the South Atlantic.

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Bridging disciplines to advance elasmobranch conservation: applications of physiological ecology

Cited by 11 publications

References 151 publications

Gill slits provide a window into the respiratory physiology of sharks

Gill slits provide a window into the respiratory physiology of sharks

Combined Effects of Acute Temperature Change and Elevated pCO2 on the Metabolic Rates and Hypoxia Tolerances of Clearnose Skate (Rostaraja eglanteria), Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), and Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata)

Almost nothing is known about the tiger shark in South Atlantic waters

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