Using citizen science photographs to identify reproductive events in an oviparous elasmobranch.

ABSTRACT: Identifying critical habitats is important for the effective management of vulnerable species. Critical habitats, such as mating or nursery grounds, support populations during key life stages and help to maximise reproductive output and population growth. In elasmobranchs, mating often happens over a defined season, suggesting sites associated with this process may only require temporal protection. However, knowledge gaps on such sites exist for many elasmobranchs due to the challenges associated with identifying temporal mating periods, which hinders conservation efforts. Here, we investigated the application of photographs to estimate reproductive timing in an oviparous elasmobranch, the flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius), as a non-invasive and low-cost alternative to other approaches.

SUBMITTER: Mawer R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12360143 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature