Seasonal changes characterise the shark and ray assemblages in a subtropical shallow sandy habitat in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how environmental drivers influence shark and ray spatial and temporal patterns can provide crucial knowledge for their evidence-based protection and long-term monitoring. However, information on which drivers of variation are most important for elasmobranch communities on soft sediments is limited. Using baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (stereo-BRUVs), we investigated how seasonal and environmental variables affected the elasmobranchs of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park marine protected area (MPA) in South Africa (SA). In total, 11 species were identified from 48 sites between 12 m and 33 m water depth in a sandy habitat. While species richness was similar across seasons, the total abundance of elasmobranchs recorded was higher in winter than summer. The species as

SUBMITTER: Ferreira JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10351505 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature