Habitat suitability of Rhincodon typus in three localities of the Gulf of California: Environmental drivers of seasonal aggregations.

The whale shark is an endangered species that usually feeds in coastal areas of highly productive seas such as the Gulf of California, Mexico. This study aims to describe the effect of sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a, bathymetry and slope on the habitat suitability of whale sharks in three important aggregation sites of the Gulf of California. A total of 2396 records of occurrence of whale sharks were obtained from international databases and scientific literature between 1996 and 2018. These records were used for the creation of a species distribution model using MaxEnt for each of the three aggregation sites. The concentration of chlorophyll a explained 71% of the habitat suitability, followed by bathymetry and slope with a combined 17%, and sea surface temperature constituting 10% of the model. Habitat suitability was related to areas where nontargeted fisheries may impact whale sharks through bycatch, entanglement and ship strikes. The implications for the conservation of whale sharks should be considered for management decisions in terms of marine protected areas, fishing refugees or bans, and other regulations regarding fisheries activities.

Potential distribution of the tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Decapoda: Penaeidae), an invasive species in the Atlantic Ocean

Introduction: Invasive species are considered the second cause of extinction of native species after habitat loss. The impacts of invasive species have serious economic implications since the presence of this type of species can result in a decrease in ecosystem services granted to humans. In marine systems, some human activities such as maritime transport and aquaculture have favored the dispersion of invasive species, especially those with commercial importance. This paper describes the potential distribution of the tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, an invasive species along the American Atlantic coast. Objective: To describe a potential distribution model of Penaeus monodon in the American Atlantic region and compare the environmental characteristics of this region with those of the Indo-Pacific original niche conditions. Methods: Using geographic and environmental data, we constructed and tested three models to determine the efficiency of MaxEnt v. 3.3 software in predicting new areas for the distribution of this invasive shrimp species. Geographic data were downloaded from such web sites as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, and the United States Geological Survey, as well from literature. Environmental data were downloaded from Bio-Oracle v2.0 data base. The three tested models were: 1) the first was created using only recordings of Penaeus monodon from the Indo-Pacific (its origin zone) and then projected to the Atlantic (native model); 2) the second was built using only recordings from the invaded area; the training and projection area of this model was the Atlantic (invasive model); 3) the third included recordings from both the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic regions, and the model was trained and projected jointly in both areas (complete model). We extracted the values of the three models for each tiger shrimp sightings in the invaded area; sightings with values ³ 0.5 were considered as valid prediction of occurrence of the species. Results: We found that the following variables explained 80 % of species distribution: phosphates from the ocean surface, coastal type, chlorophyll a, and maximum bottom temperature. In terms of the models' ability to predict the occurrences reported in the Atlantic, results were as follows: Native model had a prediction index of 40 %; Invasive model was able to predict 81 % of recordings; and complete model predicted 92 % of total occurrences reported in the invaded area. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that based on the complete model, the countries where the tiger shrimp could establish itself are Mexico and Cuba. Continuous monitoring and conservation actions are relevant in the countries where this species is currently established, as well of those countries with potential for invasions.

Introducción: Las especies invasoras son consideradas como la segunda causa de extinción de especies nativas después de la pérdida del hábitat. Los impactos de las especies invasivas tienen serias implicaciones económicas, ya que su presencia puede resultar en un decremento de los servicios ecosistémicos que benefician al hombre. En los sistemas marinos, algunas actividades humanas como el transporte marítimo y la acuicultura han favorecido la dispersión de especies invasivas, especialmente aquellas con importancia comercial. Este artículo describe la distribución potencial del camarón tigre, Penaeus monodon, una especie invasora a lo largo de la costa Atlántica Occidental. Objetivo: Describir un modelo de distribución potencial de Penaeus monodon en la región del Atlántico americano y comparar las características ambientales de esta región con las condiciones del nicho original del Indo-Pacífico. Metodología: Usando datos geográficos y ambientales, se generaron tres modelos para determinar la eficiencia del software MaxEnt v.3.3 en la predicción de nuevas áreas para la distribución de esta especie invasora. Los datos geográficos se descargaron de sitios web como el Fondo para la Información sobre la Biodiversidad Mundial, el Sistema de Información Biogeográfica del Océano y el Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos de América, así como de la literatura. Los datos ambientales fueron descargados de Bio-Oracle v2.0. Los tres modelos probados fueron: 1) registros de P. monodon de la región del Indo-Pacífico (zona de origen) y su proyección al Océano Atlántico (modelo nativo); 2) registros del área invadida, al utilizar el Océano Atlántico como área de entrenamiento y proyección del modelo (modelo invasivo); y 3) registros de las áreas Indo-Pacífico y Atlántico para capacitar y proyectar el modelo conjuntamente en ambas áreas (modelo completo). Extrajimos los valores de los tres modelos para cada avistamiento de camarones tigre en el área invadida; los avistamientos con valores ³ 0.5 fueron considerados como predicciones válidas de presencia de la especie. Resultados: Los resultados mostraron que las siguientes variables explicaron el 80 % de la distribución de la especie: fosfatos del fondo marino, tipo de costa, clorofila a y temperatura máxima del fondo. En términos de las capacidades de los modelos para predecir las presencias reportadas en el Atlántico, los resultados fueron los siguientes: modelo nativo, tuvo un índice de predicción del 40 %; modelo invasivo fue capaz de predecir el 81 % de los registros; y modelo completo predijo el 92 % de las ocurrencias totales reportadas en el área de invasión. Conclusiones: Se encontró que, con base en el modelo conjunto, los países donde el camarón tigre se podría establecer son México y Cuba. Esto sugiere que el monitoreo continuo y las acciones de conservación son relevantes en los países donde esta especie está actualmente establecida, así como en aquellos países con el potencial de ser invadidos.

Seasonal trends in whale shark Rhincodon typus sightings in an established tourism site in the Gulf of California, Mexico.

The number of individual whale shark Rhincodon typus sightings registered October 2015-March 2018 in Bahia de La Paz, Mexico, ranged from 73 to 129 animals per season (total 1662), with the majority of them identified as males. Density plot maps showed high correlations in sightings between sample seasons and revealed potential hotspot areas. Our study provides an essential baseline of information for the management of whale shark conservation and the associated touristic activities in the region.

Whale shark Rhincodon typus strandings in the Gulf of California, Mexico.

The present study analyses whale shark Rhincodon typus stranding in the Gulf of California, Mexico, reported by the public, scientists, authorities and artisanal fishermen. A total of 14 strandings were documented during the period 2001-2018. The total length of R. typus ranged from 350-1,102 cm, with a sex ratio of 3.5:1 (males: females). This study highlights potential stranding areas, the need for better stranding protocols to assist R. typus recovery and the importance of samples from dead animals for scientific research.

Designing connected marine reserves in the face of global warming.

Marine reserves are widely used to protect species important for conservation and fisheries and to help maintain ecological processes that sustain their populations, including recruitment and dispersal. Achieving these goals requires well-connected networks of marine reserves that maximize larval connectivity, thus allowing exchanges between populations and recolonization after local disturbances. However, global warming can disrupt connectivity by shortening potential dispersal pathways through changes in larval physiology. These changes can compromise the performance of marine reserve networks, thus requiring adjusting their design to account for ocean warming. To date, empirical approaches to marine prioritization have not considered larval connectivity as affected by global warming. Here, we develop a framework for designing marine reserve networks that integrates graph theory and changes in larval connectivity due to potential reductions in planktonic larval duration (PLD) associated with ocean warming, given current socioeconomic constraints. Using the Gulf of California as case study, we assess the benefits and costs of adjusting networks to account for connectivity, with and without ocean warming. We compare reserve networks designed to achieve representation of species and ecosystems with networks designed to also maximize connectivity under current and future ocean-warming scenarios. Our results indicate that current larval connectivity could be reduced significantly under ocean warming because of shortened PLDs. Given the potential changes in connectivity, we show that our graph-theoretical approach based on centrality (eigenvector and distance-weighted fragmentation) of habitat patches can help design better-connected marine reserve networks for the future with equivalent costs. We found that maintaining dispersal connectivity incidentally through representation-only reserve design is unlikely, particularly in regions with strong asymmetric patterns of dispersal connectivity. Our results support previous studies suggesting that, given potential reductions in PLD due to ocean warming, future marine reserve networks would require more and/or larger reserves in closer proximity to maintain larval connectivity.