Title

Shark Diversity in the Arabian/Persian Gulf Higher Than Previously Thought: Insights Based on Species Composition of Shark Landings in the United Arab Emirates

Authors

Rima W. Jabado, United Arab Emirates University; Gulf Elasmo Project - Dubai
Saif M. Al Ghais, United Arab Emirates University
Waleed Hamza, United Arab Emirates University
Mahmood S. Shivji, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Aaron C. Henderson, Center for Marine Resource Studies - Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2015

Publication Title

Marine Biodiversity

Keywords

Shark, Species richness, United Arab Emirates, Management, Conservation

ISSN

1867-1616

Volume

45

Issue/No.

4

First Page

719

Last Page

731

Abstract

Although fish fauna in the Arabian/Persian Gulf have been studied for decades, shark diversity has only been recently investigated in the region. Here, we present a first comprehensive account of shark diversity from the United Arab Emirates based on fishery-dependent data collected at market and landing sites over a two-year period of field sampling. Landings across the country were dominated by carcharhinids, and six species were found to be most abundant, including the spot-tail shark, Carcharhinus sorrah, and the milk shark, Rhizoprionodon acutus, contributing 31.8 % and 29.9 %, respectively, of the total number of sharks. While observed landings varied among regions and across seasons, results showed that shark landings were dominated by small-sized species, which may be a reflection of overexploitation. We are now expanding the existing checklist of shark species in the Persian Gulf from 27 to 31, having utilized both morphological identification and genetic barcoding in validating the existence of the grey bamboo shark, Chiloscyllium griseum; the tawny nurse shark,Nebrius ferrugineus; the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis; and the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, in these waters. This inventory provides an urgently needed assessment of current regional diversity patterns that can now be used as a baseline for future investigations evaluating the effect of fisheries on shark populations. Results emphasize the need for research on life history traits of the various species in order to determine their regional conservation status, but also reveal that a precautionary approach to conservation will be necessary to mitigate anthropogenic impacts.

Comments

©Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

NSUWorks Citation

Jabado, Rima W.; Saif M. Al Ghais; Waleed Hamza; Mahmood S. Shivji; and Aaron C. Henderson. 2015. "Shark Diversity in the Arabian/Persian Gulf Higher Than Previously Thought: Insights Based on Species Composition of Shark Landings in the United Arab Emirates." Marine Biodiversity 45, (4): 719-731. doi:10.1007/s12526-014-0275-7.

ResearcherID

G-4080-2013

DOI

10.1007/s12526-014-0275-7