Observations on the distribution, biology,  short-term movements and habitat requirements of river sharks Glyphis spp. in northern Australia

Pillans, Richard D.; Stevens, John D.; Kyne, Peter M.; Salini, J. P.

doi:10.3354/esr00206

Cited by 44 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Although rarely encountered, the available data indicate a broad salinity tolerance with animals observed in freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments. In fact, mature individuals have only been encountered in marine environments (26,27). Further support for regular marine dispersal of Glyphis sharks is provided by a recent phylogeographic study on the speartooth shark G. glyphis, which recovered identical mitochondrial genome sequences in both the Alligator and Adelaide river systems in Australia, and more impressively in both the Wenlock and Alligator river systems, requiring, in the latter case, more than 1,000-km dispersal across marine habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

DNA capture reveals transoceanic gene flow in endangered river sharks

Corrigan

Yang

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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For over a hundred years, the "river sharks" of the genus Glyphis were only known from the type specimens of species that had been collected in the 19th century. They were widely considered extinct until populations of Glyphis-like sharks were rediscovered in remote regions of Borneo and Northern Australia at the end of the 20th century. However, the genetic affinities between the newly discovered Glyphis-like populations and the poorly preserved, original museum-type specimens have never been established. Here, we present the first (to our knowledge) fully resolved, complete phylogeny of Glyphis that includes both archival-type specimens and modern material. We used a sensitive DNA hybridization capture method to obtain complete mitochondrial genomes from all of our samples and show that three of the five described river shark species are probably conspecific and widely distributed in Southeast Asia. Furthermore we show that there has been recent gene flow between locations that are separated by large oceanic expanses. Our data strongly suggest marine dispersal in these species, overturning the widely held notion that river sharks are restricted to freshwater. It seems that species in the genus Glyphis are euryhaline with an ecology similar to the bull shark, in which adult individuals live in the ocean while the young grow up in river habitats with reduced predation pressure. Finally, we discovered a previously unidentified species within the genus Glyphis that is deeply divergent from all other lineages, underscoring the current lack of knowledge about the biodiversity and ecology of these mysterious sharks.freshwater sharks | DNA | museum specimens

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

DNA capture reveals transoceanic gene flow in endangered river sharks

Corrigan

Yang

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…pristis and G. glyphis have unique life histories compared to most elasmobranchs, given their use of fresh or brackish waters as nursery areas (Thorburn et al 2007, Pillans et al 2010, Whitty et al 2009). Although this could explain the higher degree of genetic structure found in those species compared to fully marine species , parentage analysis recently provided direct evidence of female lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris returning to the same marine site to pup year after year (Feldheim et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole mitogenome sequencing refines population structure of the Critically Endangered sawfish Pristis pristis

Feutry¹,

Kyne²,

Pillans³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758) is a highly threatened euryhaline elasmobranch that in recent times has undergone a significant range contraction. It now only remains in a few areas, with northern Australia being the main stronghold. Previous work using a single mitochondrial gene approach suggested the existence of regional barriers to gene flow in northern Australia. In this study, whole mitochondrial sequences of 92 P. pristis from 7 river drainages across northern Australia were used to refine the population structure. This approach revealed barriers to gene flow at a scale as fine as between adjacent river drainages. Except for those flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria, all river drainages appeared to host a genetically distinct population. The apparent genetic homogeneity in the Gulf is probably due to freshwater connectivity between river drainages, either during the last glaciation event when the Gulf was a freshwater lake or through contemporary wet season flooding. These results suggest that each river drainage across the species' range should be considered a discrete management unit unless there is evidence of freshwater connectivity. More broadly, the improved resolution of population structure obtained with whole mitogenome analysis compared to single mitochondrial gene approaches suggests that female reproductive philopatry may have been overlooked in previous studies of some elasmobranch species.

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“…Werry et al., ) or the Critically Endangered river sharks ( Glyphis ) and sawfishes (Pristidae) (e.g. Pillans et al., ; Whitty et al., ; Moore, ; respectively). There have been relatively few studies that have examined the broader elasmobranch community, although there have been a few exceptions elsewhere, such as in the USA (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution, diversity and abundance of elasmobranch fishes in a modified subtropical estuarine system in Kuwait

et al. 2015

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Summary To address the paucity of information on the spatial and temporal composition of elasmobranch fish assemblages in the Arabian region, data from fisheries surveys around Kuwait's Boubyan Island, in the Tigris‐Euphrates‐Karun delta at the head of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf were examined. A total number of 461 elasmobranchs consisting of at least 13 taxa were captured by gillnets (300 m length, 4, 4.5, 5.5, and 5.75 inch stretch mesh) and otter trawls (5‐m chain line length, 34 and 10 mm stretch mesh in body and cod end, respectively) from February 2004 to March 2005. Seventy‐nine gillnet sets averaged 24 min soak time, while 431 5‐min trawl tows averaged 4.1 km h−1 for a swept area of 1025 m2 tow−1 with a net spread of 3 m. Most taxa were infrequently recorded. Of the six species that accounted for over 90% of individual abundance, the longheaded eagle ray Aetobatus flagellum (170, 269.5 kg) and the scaly whipray Himantura imbricata (137, 17.3 kg) ranked first and second, respectively. Most sharks were Arabian carpetshark Chiloscyllium arabicum (22, 7.7 kg) and milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus (21, 2.3 kg). Species richness for gillnets was greatest along the main Gulf coast (H' = 1.87), although H. imbricata and A. flagellum were widespread. Based on published birth sizes, neonates or young‐of‐year of several species were recorded. Results indicated that the water temperature strongly determined seasonal distribution: no elasmobranchs were recorded in the winter following a 14°C drop after October, and diversity, abundance and biomass generally increased in summer. While salinity varied from 28.4 to 39.8, major anthropogenic modifications in the upper Tigris‐Euphrates watersheds and development of Boubyan Port will result in higher salinities, which in turn will influence longer‐term patterns of elasmobranch distribution.

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Observations on the distribution, biology, short-term movements and habitat requirements of river sharks Glyphis spp. in northern Australia

Cited by 44 publications

References 25 publications

DNA capture reveals transoceanic gene flow in endangered river sharks

DNA capture reveals transoceanic gene flow in endangered river sharks

Whole mitogenome sequencing refines population structure of the Critically Endangered sawfish Pristis pristis

The distribution, diversity and abundance of elasmobranch fishes in a modified subtropical estuarine system in Kuwait

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