Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry
Abstract To investigate the seasonal migratory behaviour of spinetail devil rays, Mobula mobular, across the Mediterranean Sea, we used satellite telemetry to track nine individuals between 2016 and 2021. The species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species and appears to...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77820-w |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832594741464662016 |
|---|---|
| author | Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara Mohammed Abudaya Giacomo Milisenda Simonepietro Canese Viola Panigada Jehad Salah Simone Panigada |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara Mohammed Abudaya Giacomo Milisenda Simonepietro Canese Viola Panigada Jehad Salah Simone Panigada |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract To investigate the seasonal migratory behaviour of spinetail devil rays, Mobula mobular, across the Mediterranean Sea, we used satellite telemetry to track nine individuals between 2016 and 2021. The species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species and appears to be most vulnerable to fishing impacts when gathering in large assemblages. The only known targeted devil ray fishery harvests significant numbers each winter off Gaza. While broadly distributed during summer across the more productive areas of the western and central portions of the Mediterranean, most tracked rays showed an eastward movement towards eastern Levantine waters during the second half of the year. One individual, tagged off Gaza in March 2016, travelled to Spain before swimming back to the Levantine Sea one year later. Our study corroborates the notion that the species undergoes predictable basin-wide migrations across the Mediterranean Sea, favouring the Levantine waters in late winter and early spring, thanks to the subregion’s milder sea surface temperatures in that time of the year compared to the rest of the Mediterranean. Understanding the species’ seasonal movement pattern in the Mediterranean could support the implementation of robust place-based conservation measures, especially in light of unregulated fishing pressure. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1125819a4f4744e9ab090ca3fa7be116 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-1125819a4f4744e9ab090ca3fa7be1162025-01-19T12:20:32ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111110.1038/s41598-024-77820-wInsights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetryGiuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara0Mohammed Abudaya1Giacomo Milisenda2Simonepietro Canese3Viola Panigada4Jehad Salah5Simone Panigada6Tethys Research InstituteNational Research CenterDepartment of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine CentreDepartment of Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton DohrnTethys Research InstituteMinistry of AgricultureTethys Research InstituteAbstract To investigate the seasonal migratory behaviour of spinetail devil rays, Mobula mobular, across the Mediterranean Sea, we used satellite telemetry to track nine individuals between 2016 and 2021. The species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species and appears to be most vulnerable to fishing impacts when gathering in large assemblages. The only known targeted devil ray fishery harvests significant numbers each winter off Gaza. While broadly distributed during summer across the more productive areas of the western and central portions of the Mediterranean, most tracked rays showed an eastward movement towards eastern Levantine waters during the second half of the year. One individual, tagged off Gaza in March 2016, travelled to Spain before swimming back to the Levantine Sea one year later. Our study corroborates the notion that the species undergoes predictable basin-wide migrations across the Mediterranean Sea, favouring the Levantine waters in late winter and early spring, thanks to the subregion’s milder sea surface temperatures in that time of the year compared to the rest of the Mediterranean. Understanding the species’ seasonal movement pattern in the Mediterranean could support the implementation of robust place-based conservation measures, especially in light of unregulated fishing pressure.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77820-wSpinetail devil rayMobula mobularMediterraneanMigrationSatellite trackingSeasonality |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara Mohammed Abudaya Giacomo Milisenda Simonepietro Canese Viola Panigada Jehad Salah Simone Panigada Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry Scientific Reports Spinetail devil ray Mobula mobular Mediterranean Migration Satellite tracking Seasonality |
| title | Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry |
| title_full | Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry |
| title_fullStr | Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry |
| title_short | Insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the Mediterranean Sea through satellite telemetry |
| title_sort | insights into spinetail devil ray spatial ecology in the mediterranean sea through satellite telemetry |
| topic | Spinetail devil ray Mobula mobular Mediterranean Migration Satellite tracking Seasonality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77820-w |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT giuseppenotarbartolodisciara insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry AT mohammedabudaya insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry AT giacomomilisenda insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry AT simonepietrocanese insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry AT violapanigada insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry AT jehadsalah insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry AT simonepanigada insightsintospinetaildevilrayspatialecologyinthemediterraneanseathroughsatellitetelemetry |