Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T15:05:36.720Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Life history parameters of the crocodile shark, Pseudocarcharias kamoharai, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2021

Daniela Rosa Open the ORCID record for Daniela Rosa [Opens in a new window] ,
Marco Gago ,
Joana Fernandez-Carvalho  and
Rui Coelho
Daniela Rosa*
Affiliation:
IPMA – Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. 5 de Outubro s/n, Olhão 8700-305, Portugal CCMAR – Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
Marco Gago
Affiliation:
CCMAR – Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
Joana Fernandez-Carvalho
Affiliation:
IPMA – Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. 5 de Outubro s/n, Olhão 8700-305, Portugal CCMAR – Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
Rui Coelho
Affiliation:
IPMA – Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. 5 de Outubro s/n, Olhão 8700-305, Portugal CCMAR – Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
*
Author for correspondence: Daniela Rosa, E-mail: daniela.rosa@ipma.pt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The crocodile shark (Pseudocarcharias kamoharai) is a small lamniform shark that is occasionally by-caught in pelagic longline fisheries targeting tunas and swordfish. Due to its biological features, this species is highly vulnerable to overexploitation. However, at present, the crocodile shark is not evaluated for its stock status by any of the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations. In this study, the biology of 391 specimens (220 females and 171 males), ranging from 44.2 cm to 101.5 cm fork length (FL), collected from the tropical region of the Atlantic Ocean, was examined. Ages were assigned from growth band counts in vertebral sections, with the modified von Bertalanffy growth model, using a fixed size at birth (L0) at 32 cm FL, producing the best fit: Linf = 105.6 cm FL and k = 0.14 y−1 for females; Linf = 94.6 cm FL and k = 0.18 y−1 for males. Maturity ogives were fitted to both length- and age-based data. The size (L50) and age (A50) at 50% maturity was estimated at 67.2 cm FL (5 years) and 81.6 cm FL (8 years) for males and females, respectively. Mean uterine fecundity was 3.7 pups per litter with a 1:1 embryonic sex ratio. Further work is needed regarding crocodile shark life-history characteristics, especially because there are no age validation studies of the band pair deposition periodicity. However, the parameters now presented can contribute to future evaluations of this species, which is especially important given its potentially vulnerable life history.

Keywords

Bycatchelasmobranchsgrowth modellingmorphometricsreproduction
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 101 , Issue 4 , June 2021 , pp. 753 - 763
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramoff, MD, Magalhaes, PJ and Ram, SJ (2004) Image processing with ImageJ. Biophotonics International 11, 36–42.Google Scholar
Andrade, I, Rosa, D, Muñoz-Lechuga, R and Coelho, R (2019) Age and growth of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) in the Indian Ocean. Fisheries Research 211, 238–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ardizzone, D, Cailliet, GM, Natanson, LJ, Andrews, AH, Kerr, LA and Brown, TA (2006) Application of bomb radiocarbon chronologies to shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) age validation. Environmental Biology of Fishes 77, 355–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ariz, J, Delgado de Molina, A, Ramos, ML and Santana, JC (2006) Check list and catch rate data by hook type and bait for bycatch species caught by Spanish experimental longline cruises in the south-western Indian Ocean during 2005. Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC Document), IOTC-2006-WPBy-04, 10 pp.Google Scholar
Ariz, J, Delgado de Molina, A, Ramos, ML and Santana, JC (2007) Length-weight relationships, conversion factors and analyses of sex-ratio, by length-range, for several species of pelagic sharks caught in experimental cruises on board Spanish longliners in the South Western Indian Ocean during 2005. Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC Document), IOTC-2007–WPEB-04, 23 pp.Google Scholar
Beamish, RJ and Fournier, DA (1981) A method for comparing the precision of a set of age determinations. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 38, 982–983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cailliet, CM (2015) Perspectives on elasmobranch life-history studies: a focus on age validation and relevance to fishery management. Journal of Fish Biology 87, 1271–1292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cailliet, GM, Smith, WD, Mollet, HF and Goldman, KJ (2006) Age and growth studies of chondrichthyan fishes: the need for consistency in terminology, verification, validation, and growth function fitting. Environmental Biology of Fishes 77, 211–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campana, SE (2001) Accuracy, precision, and quality control in age determination, including a review of the use and abuse of age validation methods. Journal of Fish Biology 59, 197–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canty, A and Ripley, B (2019) boot: Bootstrap R (S-Plus) Functions. R package version 1.3-22.Google Scholar
Coelho, R, Fernandez-Carvalho, J, Lino, PG and Santos, MN (2012) An overview of the hooking mortality of elasmobranchs caught in a swordfish pelagic longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean. Aquatic Living Resources 25, 311–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Compagno, LJV (2001) Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Volume 2. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. Rome: FAO, No. 1, Vol. 2, 269 pp.Google Scholar
Cortés, E, Domingo, A, Miller, R, Forselledo, R, Mas, F, Arocha, F, Camapana, S, Coelho, R, Da Silva, C, Hazin, FHV, Holtzhausen, H, Keene, K, Lucena, F, Ramirez, K, Santos, MN, Semba-Murakami, Y and Yokawa, K (2015) Expanded ecological risk assessment of pelagic sharks caught in Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 71, 2637–2688.Google Scholar
Dai, J, Zhu, JF, Chen, XJ, Xu, LX and Chen, Y (2012) Biological observations on the crocodile shark Pseudocarcharias kamoharai. Journal of Fish Biology 80, 1207–1212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
da Silva Ferrette, BL, Mendonça, FF, Coelho, R, de Oliveira, PGV, Hazin, FHV, Romanov, EV, Oliveira, C, Santos, MN and Foresti, F (2015) High connectivity of the crocodile shark between the Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans: highlights for conservation. PLoS ONE 10, e0117549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elzhov, TV, Mullen, KM, Spiess, A-N and Bolker, B (2016) minpack.lm: R Interface to the Levenberg-Marquardt Nonlinear Least-Squares Algorithm Found in MINPACK, Plus Support for Bounds. R package version 1.2-1.Google Scholar
Fernandez-Carvalho, J, Coelho, R, Erzini, K and Santos, MN (2015 a) Modeling age and growth of the bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus) in the Atlantic Ocean. Fishery Bulletin 113, 468–481.Google Scholar
Fernandez-Carvalho, J, Coelho, R, Mejuto, J, Cortés, E, Domingo, A, Yokawa, K, Liu, K-M, García- Cortés, B, Forselledo, R, Ohshimo, S, Ramos-Cartelle, A, Tsai, W-P and Santos, MN (2015 b) Pan-Atlantic distribution patterns and reproductive biology of the bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 25, 551–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fujita, K (1981) Oviphagous embryos of the pseudocarchariid shark, Pseudocarcharias kamoharai, from the central Pacific. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 28, 37–44.Google Scholar
Gervelis, BJ and Natanson, LJ (2013) Age and growth of the common thresher shark in the Western North Atlantic Ocean. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 142, 1535–1545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman, KJ, Cailliet, GM, Andrews, AH and Natanson, LJ (2012) Assessing the age and growth of chondrichthyan fishes. In Carrier, JC, Musick, JA and Heithaus, MR (eds), Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives, 2nd edn. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 423–451.Google Scholar
Harry, AV (2018) Evidence for systemic age underestimation in shark and ray ageing studies. Fish and Fisheries 19, 185–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazin, FHV, Couto, AA, Kihara, K, Otsuka, K and Ishino, M (1990) Distribution and abundance of pelagic sharks in the south-western equatorial Atlantic. Journal of the Tokyo University of Fisheries 77, 51–64.Google Scholar
Kindong, R, Wang, H, Wu, F, Dai, X and Tian, S (2020) Age, growth, and sexual maturity of the crocodile shark, Pseudocarcharias kamoharai, from the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science 7, 586024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinney, MJ, Wells, RJD and Kohin, S (2016) Oxytetracycline age validation of an adult shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus after 6 years at liberty. Journal of Fish Biology 89, 1828–1833.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kyne, PM, Romanov, E, Barreto, R, Carlson, J, Fernando, D, Fordham, S, Francis, MP, Jabado, RW, Liu, K-M, Marshall, A, Pacoureau, N and Sherley, RB (2019) Pseudocarcharias kamoharai. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. e.T39337A2900108. Available from https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39337/2900108.Google Scholar
Lessa, R, Andrade, HA, De Lima, KL and Santana, FM (2016) Age and growth of the midwater crocodile shark Pseudocarcharias kamoharai. Journal of Fish Biology 89, 371–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levene, H (1960) Robust tests for equality of variances. In Olkin, I, Ghurye, SG, Hoeffding, W, Madow, WG and Mann, HB (eds), Contributions to Probability and Statistics: Essays in Honor of Harold Hotelling. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 278–292.Google Scholar
Lilliefors, HW (1967) On the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for normality with mean and variance unknown. Journal of the American Statistical Association 62, 399–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, KM, Chiang, PJ and Chen, CT (1998) Age and growth estimates of the bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus, in northeastern Taiwan waters. Fisheries Bulletin 96, 482–491.Google Scholar
Liu, KM, Chen, CT, Liao, TH and Joung, SJ (1999) Age, growth, and reproduction of the pelagic thresher shark, Alopias pelagicus in the Northwestern Pacific. Copeia 1, 68–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manly, B (2007) Randomization Bootstrap and Monte Carlo Methods in Biology, 3rd edn. New York, NY: Chapman & Hall/CRC.Google Scholar
Natanson, LJ and Gervelis, BJ (2013) The reproductive biology of the common thresher shark in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 142, 1546–1562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Natanson, LJ, Mello, JJ and Campana, SE (2002) Validated age and growth of the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Fishery Bulletin 100, 266–278.Google Scholar
Natanson, LJ, Kohler, NE, Ardizzone, D, Cailliet, GM, Wintner, SP and Mollet, HF (2006) Validated age and growth estimates for the shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Environmental Biology of Fishes 77, 367–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Natanson, LJ, Skomal, GB, Hoffman, SL, Porter, ME, Goldman, KJ and Serra, D (2018) Age and growth of sharks: do vertebral band pairs record age? Marine and Freshwater Research 69, 1440–1452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Natanson, LJ, Winton, M, Bowlby, H, Joyce, W, Deacy, B, Coelho, R and Rosa, D (2020) Updated reproductive parameters for the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the North Atlantic Ocean with inferences of distribution by sex and reproductive stage. Fishery Bulletin 118, 21–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogle, DH, Wheeler, P and Dinno, A (2020) FSA: Fisheries Stock Analysis. R package version 0.8.27.Google Scholar
Oliveira, P, Hazin, FHV, Carvalho, F, Rego, M, Coelho, R, Piercy, A and Burgess, G (2010) Reproductive biology of the crocodile shark Pseudocarcharias kamoharai. Journal of Fish Biology 76, 1655–1670.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
R Core Team (2019) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Romanov, E, Ward, P, Levesque, JC and Lawrence, E (2008) Preliminary analysis of crocodile shark (Pseudocarcharias kamoharai) distribution and abundance trends in pelagic longline fisheries. Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC Document), IOTC-2008–WPEB-09, 29 pp.Google Scholar
Rosa, D, Mas, F, Mathers, A, Natanson, LJ, Domingo, A, Carlson, J and Coelho, R (2017) Age and growth of shortfin mako in the North Atlantic, with revised parameters for consideration to use in the stock assessment. International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT SCRS Document), SCRS/2017/111, 22 pp.Google Scholar
Stevens, JD, Bonfil, R, Dulvy, NK and Walker, PA (2000) The effects of fishing on sharks, rays, and chimaeras (Chondrichthyans), and the implications for marine ecosystems. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57, 476–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, WA, Bigelow, KA and Sender, KL (2009) Decreases in shark catches and mortality in the Hawaii-based longline fishery as documented by fishery observers. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 1, 270–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, RJD, Smith, SE, Kohin, S, Freund, E, Spear, N and Ramon, DA (2013) Age validation of juvenile shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) tagged and marked with oxytetracycline off southern California. Fishery Bulletin 111, 147–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, WT (2007) Biological observations on lamnoid sharks (Lamniformes) caught by fisheries in eastern Indonesia. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87, 781–788.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wickham, H (2016) ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis. New York, NY: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, F, Kindong, R, Dai, XJ, Sarr, O, Zhu, JF, Tian, SQ, Li, Y and Nsangue, BTN (2020) Aspects of the reproductive biology of the blue and crocodile sharks in the tropical Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Fish Biology 2020, jfb.14526.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Rosa et al. supplementary material

Rosa et al. supplementary material

Download Rosa et al. supplementary material(File)
File 349.9 KB