Supplementary Files
Keywords
Mobula munkiana; juveniles; rayas diablo; migración; abundancia de presas; comportamiento de alimentación.
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction: Identifying critical habitats for vulnerable elasmobranch species is crucial for effective conservation measures. The Munk’s devil ray (Mobula munkiana) is endemic to the Eastern Pacific, but yet little is known about its biology, ecology, and habitat use. As filter feeders, it is assumed that this species concentrates at high-productive upwelling regions, such as the Costa Rican Dome. Like many elasmobranchs, its populations are highly depleted and require urgent information to inform better conservation measures.
Objective: The study was conducted to gain information on a unique behavior observed in juvenile M. munkiana, so further information can be provided on early life stages of this vulnerable species.
Methods: From June to September 2017 and in August 2018, the feeding behavior of juvenile Mobula munkiana was observed in two shallow bays located at Punta Descartes, North Pacific Costa Rica. Individuals were captured using a non-lethal method to obtain data on size, weight, and sex distribution. Plankton samples (n = 100) were taken at both bays throughout the months to infer diet composition.
Results: Munk’s devil rays showed a repetitive swimming movement parallel to the beach, feeding exclusively in the shallow breaking zone of the low tide waves at depth <50cm. A total of 12 M. munkiana (11 live and one found dead) indicated a juvenile feeding aggregation ranging from 490 – 610mm in disk width and 1400 – 2300gr in weight. The sex ratio (males to females) was 3:1. Zooplankton of the order Mysidacae was found in the highest abundance in the breaking zone.
Conclusions: The specific behavior and seasonal occurrence of juvenile Munk’s devil rays in this area seem to be driven by prey abundance. More research is needed to conclude the presence of reproductive adults at deeper depths and the year-round habitat use of Punta Descartes. The area is threatened by unsustainable development and requires realistic management strategies to guarantee the survival of vulnerable species and their critical habitats.
References
Alvarado, J. J., Herrera, B., Corrales, L., Asch, J., & Paaby, P. (2011). Identificación de las prioridades de conservación de la biodiversidad marina y costera en Costa Rica Juan. Revista de Biología Tropical, 59(June), 829–842.
Alves de Mendonça, S., Luz Botêlho Macena, B. C., de Araújo, C. B., Alves Bezerra, N. P., & Vieira Hazin, F. H. (2020). Dancing with the devil: Courtship behaviour, mating evidences and population structure of the Mobula tarapacana (Myliobatiformes: Mobulidae) in a remote archipelago in the equatorial mid-atlantic ocean. Neotropical Ichthyology, 18(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0224-2020-0008
Ari, C., & Correia, J. P. (2008). Role of sensory cues on food searching behavior of a captive Manta birostris (Chondrichtyes, Mobulidae). Zoo Biology, 27(4), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.20189
Braun, C. D., Skomal, G. B., Thorrold, S. R., & Berumen, M. L. (2015). Movements of the reef manta ray (Manta alfredi) in the Red Sea using satellite and acoustic telemetry. Marine Biology, 162(12), 2351–2362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2760-3
Brinton, E. (1979). Parameters relating to the distributions of planktonic organisms, especially euphausiids in the eastern tropical Pacific. Progress in oceanography, 8(3), 125-189.
Broadhurst, M. K., Laglbauer, B. J. L., & Bennett, M. B. (2019). Gestation and size at parturition for Mobula kuhlii cf. eregoodootenkee. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 102(7), 1009–1014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-019-00886-3
Clutter, R. I. (1967). Zonation of Nearshore Mysids. 48(2), 200–208.
Coasaca-Céspedes, J. J., Segura-Cobeña, E., Montero-Taboada, R., Gonzalez-Pestana, A., Alfaro-Córdova, E., Alfaro-Shigueto, J., & Mangel, J. C. (2018). Preliminary analysis of the feeding habits of batoids from the genera Mobula and Myliobatis in northern Peru. Revista de Biologia Marina y Oceanografia, 53(3), 367–374. https://doi.org/10.22370/rbmo.2018.53.3.1368
Cortés, J., Samper-Villarreal, J., & Bernecker, A. (2014). Seasonal phenology of Sargassum liebmannii J. Agardh (Fucales, Heterokontophyta) in an upwelling area of the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Aquatic Botany, 119(OCTOBER), 105–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2014.08.009
Couturier, L. I. E., Marshall, A. D., Jaine, F. R. A., Kashiwagi, T., Pierce, S. J., Townsend, K. A., Weeks, S. J., Bennett, M. B., & Richardson, A. J. (2012). Biology, ecology and conservation of the Mobulidae. Journal of Fish Biology, 80(5), 1075–1119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03264.x
Croll, D. A., Dewar, H., Dulvy, N. K., Fernando, D., Francis, M. P., Galván-Magaña, F., Hall, M., Heinrichs, S., Marshall, A., Mccauley, D., Newton, K. M., Notarbartolo-Di-Sciara, G., O’Malley, M., O’Sullivan, J., Poortvliet, M., Roman, M., Stevens, G., Tershy, B. R., & White, W. T. (2016). Vulnerabilities and fisheries impacts: the uncertain future of manta and devil rays. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 26(3), 562–575. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2591
Croll, D. A., Newton, K. M., Weng, K., Galván-Magaña, F., O’Sullivan, J., & Dewar, H. (2012) Movement and habitat use by the spine-tail devil ray in the Eastern Pacific. Ocean Marine Ecology Progress Series, 465,193-200. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09900
Espinoza, M., Araya-Arce, T., Chaves-Zamora, I., Chinchilla, I., & Cambra, M. (2020). Monitoring elasmobranch assemblages in a data-poor country from the Eastern Tropical Pacific using baited remote underwater video stations. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74282-8
Espinoza, M., Díaz, E., Angulo, A., Hernández, S., & Clarke, T. M. (2018). Chondrichthyan diversity, conservation status, and management challenges in Costa Rica. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, 85. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00085
Fernández-Álamo, M. A., & Färber-Lorda, J. (2006). Zooplankton and the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific: A review. Progress in Oceanography, 69(2–4), 318–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2006.03.003
Fiedler, P. (2002). The annual cycle and biological effects of the Costa Rica Dome. Deep-Sea Research I, 49, 321–338.
Germanov, E. S., & Marshall, A. D. (2014). Running the Gauntlet: Regional movement patterns of manta alfredi through a complex of parks and fisheries. PLoS ONE, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110071
Hosegood, J., Humble, E., Ogden, R., de Bruyn, M., Creer, S., Stevens, G. M. W., Abudaya, M., Bassos-Hull, K., Bonfil, R., Fernando, D., Foote, A. D., Hipperson, H., Jabado, R. W., Kaden, J., Moazzam, M., Peel, L. R., Pollett, S., Ponzo, A., Poortvliet, M., … Carvalho, G. (2020). Phylogenomics and species delimitation for effective conservation of manta and devil rays. Molecular Ecology, 29(24), 4783–4796. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15683
Jaine, F. R. A., Couturier, L. I. E., Weeks, S. J., Townsend, K. A., Bennett, M. B., Fiora, K., & Richardson, A. J. (2012). When Giants Turn Up: Sighting Trends, Environmental Influences and Habitat Use of the Manta Ray Manta alfredi at a Coral Reef. PLoS ONE, 7(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046170
Lawson, J. M., Fordham, S. V., O’Malley, M. P., Davidson, L. N., Walls, R. H., Heupel, M. R., Stevens, G., Fernando, D., Budziak, A., Simpfendorfer, C. A., Ender, I., Francis, M. P., Notarbartolo-di-Sciara, G., & Dulvy, N. K. (2017). Sympathy for the devil: a conservation strategy for devil and manta rays. PeerJ, 5, e3027. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3027
Lezama-Ochoa, N., Hall, M., Román, M., & Vogel, N. (2019). Spatial and temporal distribution of mobulid ray species in the eastern Pacific Ocean ascertained from observer data from the tropical tuna purse-seine fishery. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 102(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-018-0832-1
Lopez, J. N. S. (2009). Estudio Comparativo de la Reproduccion de tres Especies del Genero Mobula (Chondrichthyes: Mobulidae) en el Suroeaste del Golfo de California, Mexico (Master’s thesis). Instituto Politécnico Nacional, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Marshall, A., Barreto, R., Carlson, J., Fernando, D., Fordham, S., Francis, M. P., Herman, K., Jabado, R. W., Liu, K. M., Rigby, C. L., & Romanov, E. (2019). Mobula munkiana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T60198A124450956.en
Morales-Ramírez, Á., Corrales-Ugalde, M., Esquivel-Garrote, O., Carrillo-Baltodano, A., Rodríguez-Sáenz, K., & Sheridan, C. (2018). Marine zooplankton studies in Costa Rica: A review and future perspectives. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 66(Suppl. 1), S24–S41. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v66i1.33258
Morales-Ramírez, Á., Till-Pons, I., Alfaro, E. J., Corrales-Ugalde, M., & Sheridan-Rodríguez, C. (2021). Mesozooplankton responses to oceanographic conditions across different scales in Salinas Bay, Northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica during 2011-2013. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 69(Suppl. 2), S142-S159.
Mulvany, S., & Motta, P. J. (2013). The morphology of the cephalic lobes and anterior pectoral fins in six species of batoids. Journal of Morphology, 274(9), 1070–1083. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.20163
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. (1987). A revisionary study of the genus Mobula Rafinesque, 1810 (Chondrichthyes: Mobulidae) with the description of a new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 91(1), 1–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1987.tb01723.x
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. (1988). Natural history of the rays of the genus Mobula in the Gulf of California. Fishery Bulletin, 86(1), 45–66.
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Adnet, S., Bennett, M., Broadhurst, M. K., Fernando, D., Jabado, R. W., Laglbauer, B. J. L., & Stevens, G. (2020). Taxonomic status, biological notes, and conservation of the longhorned pygmy devil ray Mobula eregoodoo (Cantor, 1849). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 30(1), 104–122. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3230
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Fernando, D., Adnet, S., Cappetta, H., & Jabado, R. W. (2017). Devil rays (Chondrichthyes: Mobula) of the Arabian Seas, with a redescription of Mobula kuhlii (Valenciennes in Müller and Henle, 1841). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 27(1), 197–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2635
O’Malley, M. P., Townsend, K. A., Hilton, P., Heinrichs, S., & Stewart, J. D. (2017). Characterization of the trade in manta and devil ray gill plates in China and South-east Asia through trader surveys. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 27(2), 394–413. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2670
Palacios, M. D., Hoyos-Padilla, E. M., Trejo-Ramírez, A., Croll, D. A., Galván-Magaña, F., Zilliacus, K. M., O’Sullivan, J. B., Ketchum, J. T., & González-Armas, R. (2021). Description of first nursery area for a pygmy devil ray species (Mobula munkiana) in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80506-8
Price, W., Heard, R., & Vargas, R. (2009). Shallow Water Mysids. In I. Wehrtmann & J. Cortés (Eds.), Marine Biodiversity of Costa Rica, Central America (pp. 229–236). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8278-8_20
R Core Team (2020). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
Rohner, C. A., Pierce, S. J., Marshall, A. D., Weeks, S. J., Bennett, M. B., & Richardson, A. J. (2013). Trends in sightings and environmental influences on a coastal aggregation of manta rays and whale sharks. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 482, 153–168. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10290
Salomón-Aguilar, C. A., Villavicencio-Garayzar, C. J., & Reyes-Bonilla, H. (2009). Zonas y temporadas de reproducción y crianza de tiburones en el Golfo de California: Estrategia para su conservación y manejo pesquero. Ciencias Marinas, 35(4), 369–388. https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.v35i4.1435
Sampson, L., Galván-Magaña, F., de Silva-Dávila, R., Aguíñiga-García, S., & Ósullivan, J. B. (2010). Diet and trophic position of the devil rays Mobula thurstoni and Mobula japanica as inferred from stable isotope analysis. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 90(5), 969–976. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315410000548
Stewart, J. D., Jaine, F. R. A., Armstrong, A. J., Armstrong, A. O., Bennett, M. B., Burgess, K. B., Couturier, L. I. E., Croll, D. A., Cronin, M. R., Deakos, M. H., Dudgeon, C. L., Fernando, D., Froman, N., Germanov, E. S., Hall, M. A., Hinojosa-Alvarez, S., Hosegood, J. E., Kashiwagi, T., Laglbauer, B. J. L., … Stevens, G. M. W. (2018). Research priorities to support effective Manta and Devil Ray conservation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, 314. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00314
Stewart, J. D., Rohner, C. A., Araujo, G., Avila, J., Fernando, D., Forsberg, K., Ponzo, A., Rambahiniarison, J. M., Kurle, C. M., & Semmens, B. X. (2017). Trophic overlap in mobulid rays: Insights from stable isotope analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 580, 131–151. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12304
Wearmouth, V. J., & Sims, D. W. (2008). Chapter 2. Sexual Segregation in Marine Fish, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Behaviour Patterns, Mechanisms and Conservation Implications. Advances in Marine Biology, 54(08), 107–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2881(08)00002-3
White, W. T., Corrigan, S., Yang, L., Henderson, A. C., Bazinet, A. L., Swofford, D. L., & Naylor, G. J. P. (2018). Phylogeny of the manta and devilrays (Chondrichthyes: Mobulidae), with an updated taxonomic arrangement for the family. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 182(1), 50–75. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx018
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.