As the apex predators of coral reef ecosystems, reef sharks are crucial to the health and equilibrium of these delicate ecosystems. Overfishing and habitat loss, on the other hand, have led to a decline in many reef shark populations over the past few years. By studying their connectivity, conservation efforts for reef sharks can be informed. The movement of individuals between distinct populations or habitats is referred to as connectivity (Osgood & Baum, 2015). By understanding how various populations of reef sharks are associated, scientists can recognize key regions for preservation and the board. Hence, this essay looks to show how the connectivity in Reef Shark connectivity can be used to inform the conservation of this marine biology.
For conservation to occur, according to Dwyer et al. (2020), the marine protected areas (MPAs) have to be a large area of about more than 50km and a minimum of about 10km. With this, it can be conducive for the sharks to move around. It is because one of the most important factors in determining whether MPAs will be able to achieve conservation goals is the relationship between the scale of a species’ movements and the size of the MPA locally (Martín et al., 2020). Therefore, to reduce the unsustainable levels of fishing pressure and other anthropogenic stressors placed on coral reef sharks, particularly in areas where traditional fisheries management is either inadequate or has not been successful in restoring them. It is also affected by the rate of transition.
Another way to look at the other ways reef sharks can be improved. With involves making decisions using the local conservations and the trans-pacific breaks using genomes. The genome-wide genetic data that can answer difficult ecological and evolutionary questions have emerged due to the shift from conservation genetics to conservation genomics (Pazmiño et al., 2018). It is difficult to document genetic differences in marine environments because there are few obvious barriers to gene flow, especially for species that migrate a lot, like sharks. Population structure in marine organisms can be attributed to barriers like ocean currents, geographical distance, habitat discontinuity, or differential dispersal ability.
Due to their inherent susceptibility to overfishing, sharks are among the most endangered marine fish. Utilizing behavioural methods to identify biological hotspots remains both a challenge and an opportunity, particularly for species whose meat or fins are highly prized and whose political will to conserve is weak (Jacoby et al., 2022). Identifying areas and associated environmental correlates where animals’ movements bring them back to the same location semi-regularly is an important first step toward conserving these animals, even for species that spend months in pelagic and high-seas habitats. According to Lara-Lizardi et al. (2022), for studies of open ocean and pelagic shark movements and habitat use, the Northwestern Pacific region needs more data. However, commercial fishing places a significant strain on this region. As a result, shark movement data from this region has significant implications for management and conservation, particularly for endangered species (Lédée et al., 2021). Here, people give the principal information on occasional residency and developments of scalloped hammerhead, the concerns about the endangered and exploited reef shark species.
Managing exploited species effectively and addressing conservation concerns for threatened species is crucial. Fish migration and the movements that accompany it are important determinants of population structure because they are key ways separate populations mix together (McCauley et al., 2012). This can be accomplished by learning about the large predators, who frequently possess high levels of mobility and can use multiple habitats. Surprisingly little is known about how important ecosystem connectivity processes are influenced by predator mobility. For instance, if researchers discover that a particular population of reef sharks is connected to several other populations, they might prioritize conserving that area to safeguard multiple populations. In contrast, conservation efforts may focus on enhancing connectivity with other populations if a population is isolated (Jacoby et al., 2022). Additionally, connectivity studies can assist in identifying areas of high fishing pressure or habitat destruction as potential threats to reef shark populations. By comprehending their movement patterns, researchers can identify areas where reef sharks are most vulnerable to these threats and target conservation efforts accordingly.
To conclude, in some species of reef sharks, network analysis revealed previously unknown connections between populations. In others, it supported stock discrimination by identifying important nodes and routes for connectivity; as a result, the important implications for understanding how ecosystems work, managing large populations of predators, and designing conservation measures to protect entire ecosystems. Resource managers, policymakers, and ecologists must work to understand how large mobile predators create connectivity and how their depletion may affect the integrity of these linkages in the face of widespread declines. In general, examining the connectivity of reef sharks can aid conservation efforts and ensure the long-term survival of these significant apex predators and the coral reef ecosystems in which they live.
References
Dwyer, R. G., Krueck, N. C., Udyawer, V., Heupel, M. R., Chapman, D., Pratt, H. L., Jr, Garla, R., & Simpfendorfer, C. A. (2020). Individual and population benefits of marine reserves for reef sharks. Current Biology: CB, 30(3), 480-489.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.12.005
Jacoby, D. M. P., Watanabe, Y. Y., Packard, T., Healey, M., Papastamatiou, Y. P., & Gallagher, A. J. (2022). First descriptions of the seasonal habitat use and residency of scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) and Galapagos sharks (Carcharhinus galapagensis) at a coastal seamount off Japan. Animal Biotelemetry, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-022-00293-z
Lara-Lizardi, F., Hoyos-Padilla, E. M., Klimley, A. P., Grau, M., & Ketchum, J. T. (2022). Movement patterns and residency of bull sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, in a marine protected area of the Gulf of California. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 105(12), 1765–1779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01223-x
Lédée, E. J. I., Heupel, M. R., Taylor, M. D., Harcourt, R. G., Jaine, F. R. A., Huveneers, C., Udyawer, V., Campbell, H. A., Babcock, R. C., Hoenner, X., Barnett, A., Braccini, M., Brodie, S., Butcher, P. A., Cadiou, G., Dwyer, R. G., Espinoza, M., Ferreira, L. C., Fetterplace, L., … Simpfendorfer, C. A. (2021). Continental‐scale acoustic telemetry and network analysis reveal new insights into stock structure. Fish and Fisheries (Oxford, England), 22(5), 987–1005. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12565
Martín, G., Espinoza, M., Heupel, M., & Simpfendorfer, C. A. (2020). Estimating marine protected area network benefits for reef sharks. The Journal of Applied Ecology, 57(10), 1969–1980. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13706
McCauley, D. J., Young, H. S., Dunbar, R. B., Estes, J. A., Semmens, B. X., & Micheli, F. (2012). Assessing the effects of large mobile predators on ecosystem connectivity. Ecological Applications: A Publication of the Ecological Society of America, 22(6), 1711–1717. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-1653.1
Osgood, G. J., & Baum, J. K. (2015). Reef sharks: recent advances in ecological understanding to inform conservation: Sharks on coral reefs. Journal of Fish Biology, 87(6), 1489–1523. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12839
Pazmiño, D. A., Maes, G. E., Green, M. E., Simpfendorfer, C. A., Hoyos-Padilla, E. M., Duffy, C. J. A., Meyer, C. G., Kerwath, S. E., Salinas-de-León, P., & van Herwerden, L. (2018). Strong trans-Pacific break and local conservation units in the Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) revealed by genome-wide cytonuclear markers. Heredity, 120(5), 407–421. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-017-0025-2
write