Nursery Areas of the Giant Manta Ray and a Road Map Towards Better Protection of the Species

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2022-04-19

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Repository Usage Stats

75
views
30
downloads

Abstract

Maintaining our oceans biodiversity is imperative to creating a sustainable future for our blue planet. Many marine species, including sharks, rays, and sea turtles, use specific areas as nursery habitat where juveniles of the species live until they reach maturity. By identifying and prioritizing the management of nurseries, we can protect species of conservation concern at the most vulnerable phase of their life history. This project uses a literature review to identify environmental attributes of nursery habitat for the globally endangered giant manta ray (Mobula birostris). This research was used to create an ecological envelope of potential nursery habitat for the species in the Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding region. The resulting spatial analysis reveals gaps in our understanding of giant manta ray habitat requirements and informs recommendations for better management of the species in the Gulf of Mexico region.

Description

Provenance

Citation

Citation

Ives, Nora (2022). Nursery Areas of the Giant Manta Ray and a Road Map Towards Better Protection of the Species. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/24835.


Except where otherwise noted, student scholarship that was shared on DukeSpace after 2009 is made available to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution / Non-commercial / No derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) license. All rights in student work shared on DukeSpace before 2009 remain with the author and/or their designee, whose permission may be required for reuse.