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Shark and Predatory Fish Relative Abundance in Three Locations of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve Using BRUVS

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Shark and Predatory Fish Relative Abundance in Three Locations of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve Using BRUVS Shark and predatory fish relative abundance in three locations of the SeaFlower Biosphere reserve using BRUVS Miguel Esteban Rodríguez Barragán Estudiante Carrera de Biología Universidad de los Andes Trabajo de Grado Director: Diego Cardeñosa Subdirectora: Susana Caballero Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Universidad de Los Andes 14/07/2020 Abstract Marine ecosystems are essential to human populations and to ensure their sustainability, it is necessary to understand species interactions in the ecosystem and how human exploitation are affecting them. Through the oceans, sharks and predatory fishes play important ecological roles as apex and mesopredators but are also an important fishing resource. Estimating the relative abundance of these ecologically and economically valuable species can be used to assess conservation efforts and guide their management. This study aims to estimate and compare the relative abundance of sharks and fishing resources along three areas of the Seaflower biosphere reserve (Albuquerque, Providence, and Serranilla) where fishing represents an important economical source, using the BRUVS methodology. Data were collected from 2017 to 2019, a total of 141 videos were analyzed and the relative abundance variable was measure by the MaxN index. It was found that there was a relatively low abundance of Lutjanidae (snappers) and Serranidae (groupers), especially in Serranilla, which should catch the attention of the authorities so fisheries can be controlled effectively. In contrast, Carangidae (Jacks) showed high relative abundance in the three reefs. Relatively high abundance of Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) was found in the three reefs but the highest abundance was found in Providence. There were also few observations of Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) & Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokarran). These two big size shark species should be monitored for future studies and to suggest conservation initiatives. In general, it is suggested that more effective controls and regulations should be implemented in the Biosphere reserve as well as a joint work with local fishermen, whose support is the most important asset so that conservation efforts can be successful. Key words: Sharks, conservation, fisheries, abundance, Seaflower, mesopredators Introduction Worldwide, marine ecosystems provide essential services and goods to human populations, but these ecosystems have been negatively affected by human exploitation, making them an important conservation asset in order to ensure their future sustainability (Worm et al., 2006; Levin & Lubchencho, 2008). To achieve the correct conservation and management of marine resources it is necessary to understand the complex feedback mechanisms and interactions among species within a community or ecosystem (Auster et al., 2013). Some of the most important interactions that regulate marine ecosystems are trophic chains in which the presence of apex predators and mesopredators can affect and regulate the entire community (Roff et al., 2016) Among the sea, sharks and predatory fishes play important ecological roles in maintaining normal ocean ecosystems. Sharks are commonly thought to be apex predators, but this classification is sometimes mistaken as not all the species have this role (Roff et al., 2016). The trophic position of sharks can be classified depending on the body size of the shark; long size shark species e.g. tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), are usually considered apex predators that migrate from coastal to pelagic or to coral reef ecosystems (Aines et al., 2017). These movements generate a large-scale nutrient flux between coastal and oceanic ecosystems (Roff et al 2016). On the other hand, in Caribbean tropical reef ecosystems, predatory fishes such as large teleost (e.g., groupers, snappers, barracudas, mackerels, jacks) and medium sized sharks such as the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi), act as mesopredators and also can influence the structure of the ecosystem by changing the behavior, species composition and population dynamics of their preys (Estes et al., 2013, Frisch et al., 2016, Bond et al., 2018). These mesopredators act to control invasive species and provide a small-scale nutrient cycling because of their movements within coral reefs (McCauley et al., 2012; Roff et al., 2016). Additionally, both apex and mesopredators can reduce the incidence of communal disease in ecosystems by feeding on weak and sick individuals through opportunistic feeding (McCauley et al., 2012). Nevertheless, they also are economically important organisms to both artisanal and industrial fisheries. Fishing resources have been recognized as an important asset in the accomplishment of the non-hunger and non-malnutrition goal of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) because, from the total global fishing resources extracted, 88% constitute a direct human consumption while 12% belongs to fish derivative product such as fish oil (FAO, 2018;). However, even though the importance of the resource has been recognized, at least 29% of the fish stocks are being fished in an unsustainable way and close to 60% of fish stocks are at full extraction capacity (Matera., 2016). Additionally, it has been found that shark populations are decreasing due to the overfishing activities worldwide that are mainly related with Asian shark fin trade. For instance, it is estimated that approximately 100 million sharks are captured every year for fin trade (Worm et al., 2013), including shark species that are listed in CITES (Convention of international Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) To guide the management of ecologically and economically valuable species, it is necessary to generate relevant information such as relative abundance estimates (Ripple et al., 2017, 2015; Palmer et al., 2018). In general terms, abundance refers to the number of individuals of a species that inhabits a given area, which provides information about important changes in ecosystems (Schmeller et al., 2017; Authier et al., 2018) and can be used for assessing conservation efforts, managing wildlife areas, setting fishing or harvesting quotas, among others (Palmer et al., 2018). There are two ways in which abundance can be measured: the absolute abundance and the relative abundance. The absolute abundance is reported more infrequently and presents uncertainty because of the difficulty in detecting all individuals of a species in an area, making it hard for statistical analysis to detect significant changes (Jewell et al., 2012). On the contrary, relative abundance is reported with more frequency increasing the robustness of statistical analyses when utilized (Authier et al., 2018). Indeed, in Colombia, there is a lack of specific fishing statistical information of large groups of fishes such as groupers, snappers, or sharks, which complicates the study of fishing impact on fish populations (Chasqui et al., 2017). Additionally, the infrequent and poor fishing data collection, makes fisheries management a challenging topic to the point that risk extinction estimates of Colombian marine fishes are mainly based on expert’s knowledge of species and fisheries, and some indicators which are not always precise (Chasqui et al., 2017). In the case of assessing marine wildlife relative abundance, Baited Remote Underwater Videos (BRUV) have gained popularity because they are relatively cheap, non- extractive, non-invasive and non-destructive. This methodology is useful for accessing a wide range of depths and habitats, recording rare and elusive species (L de Vos et al., 2015) and observe other features such as behaviors, amount of biomass, species richness (Whitmarsh et al, 2018) (Harvey et al 2013). The Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is a set of islands located in the north of the Colombian territory. It was declared a biosphere reserve in the year 2000 by UNESCO and has an approximate area of 180000 km2 (Coralina, 2016). This reserve hosts many different ecosystems, including the world´s third largest coral barrier reef (Garay et al., 1987; Alvarez et al., 2019). In 2005, the Colombian national government declare Seaflower as a marine protected area (MPA), which is a delimitated geographical area dedicated to the protection, conservation, and restoration of a marine ecosystem and its resources (Guarderas et al., 2008; CCO, 2015; Sanchez et al., 2019). The MPA is divided into three sectors, north, central, and south. The north sector has an area of 37000 km2 and constitutes of Serrana, Roncador, and Quitasueño; the central sector has two islands: Providencia and Santa Catalina with an area of 12700 km2; and finally, the south sector consists of San Andres, Bolivar Cay, and Albuquerque cay and has an area of approximately 14800km2 (Coralina, 2016; Sánchez- Jabba, 2012). In Seaflower there are many income generating activities such as tourism, commerce, wage labor, property rental, agriculture and fishing (Matera, 2016). In the reserve, there are 273 species of reef-associated fish that have been identified including species from the Carangidae family and the Lutjanidae family which are economically important to both artisanal and industrial fisheries. Observed also are species that have been listed in the IUCN red list such as hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus); mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis); among others. Due to unsustainable fishing, the majority of the big sized fishes (>1m) have been extracted which has resulted in the gradual shift to targeting smaller fishes
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