Widespread diversity deficits of coral reef sharks and rays

Simpfendorfer CA 1 , Heithaus MR 2 , Heupel MR 3 , MacNeil MA 4 , Meekan M 5 , Harvey E 6 Show all authors , Sherman CS 1 , Currey-Randall LM 7 , Goetze JS 8 , Kiszka JJ 2 , Rees MJ 5 , Speed CW 5 , Udyawer V 9 , Bond ME 2 , Flowers KI 2 , Clementi GM 2 , Valentin-Albanese J 10 , Adam MS 11 , Ali K 2 , Asher J 12 , Aylagas E 12 , Beaufort O 13 , Benjamin C 14 , Bernard ATF 15 , Berumen ML 16 , Bierwagen S 7 , Birrell C 17 , Bonnema E 2 , Bown RMK 18 , Brooks EJ 19 , Brown JJ 20 , Buddo D 21 , Burke PJ 22 , Cáceres C 2 , Cambra M 23 , Cardeñosa D 2 , Carrier JC 24 , Casareto S 2 , Caselle JE 25 , Charloo V 26 , Cinner JE 27 , Claverie T 28 , Clua EEG 29 , Cochran JEM 16 , Cook N 30 , Cramp JE 31 , D'Alberto BM 1 , de Graaf M 32 , Dornhege MC 33 , Espinoza M 23 , Estep A 34 , Fanovich L 35 , Farabaugh NF 2 , Fernando D 18 , Ferreira CEL 36 , Fields CYA 2 , Flam AL 37 , Floros C 38 , Fourqurean V 39 , Gajdzik L 16 , Barcia LG 2 , Garla R 40 , Gastrich K 2 , George L 3 , Giarrizzo T 41 , Graham R 4 , Guttridge TL 42 , Hagan V 43 , Hardenstine RS 44 , Heck SM 43 , Henderson AC 45 , Heithaus P 2 , Hertler H 45 , Padilla MH 46 , Hueter RE 47 , Jabado RW 1 , Joyeux JC 48 , Jaiteh V 49 , Johnson M 50 , Jupiter SD 51 , Kaimuddin M 50 , Kasana D 2 , Kelley M 2 , Kessel ST 52 , Kiilu B 53 , Kirata T 54 , Kuguru B 55 , Kyne F 56 , Langlois T 57 , Lara F 58 , Lawe J 59 , Lédée EJI 1 , Lindfield S 60 , Luna-Acosta A 61 , Maggs JQ 62 , Manjaji-Matsumoto BM 63 , Marshall A 64 , Martin L 65 , Mateos-Molina D 66 , Matich P 67 , McCombs E 68 , McIvor A 16 , McLean D 5 , Meggs L 59 , Moore S 1 , Mukherji S 1 , Murray R 69 , Newman SJ 70 , Nogués J 65 , Obota C 71 , Ochavillo D 72 , O'Shea O 73 , Osuka KE 71 , Papastamatiou YP 2 , Perera N 17 , Peterson B 10 , Pimentel CR 48 , Pina-Amargós F 74 , Pinheiro HT 75 , Ponzo A 76 , Prasetyo A 77 , Quamar LMS 78 , Quinlan JR 2 , Reis-Filho JA 79 , Ruiz H 80 , Ruiz-Abierno A 81 , Sala E 82 , de-León PS 83 , Samoilys MA 71 , Sample WR 2 , Schärer-Umpierre M 80 , Schlaff AM 1 , Schmid K 84 , Schoen SN 2 , Simpson N 85 , Smith ANH 86 , Spaet JLY 87 , Sparks L 88 , Stoffers T 89 , Tanna A 18 , Torres R 90 , Travers MJ 70 , van Zinnicq Bergmann M 2 , Vigliola L 91 , Ward J 92 , Warren JD 10 , Watts AM 36 , Wen CK 93 , Whitman ER 2 , Wirsing AJ 94 , Wothke A 35 , Zarza-González E 95 , Chapman DD 2

Affiliations 

  • 1 College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
  • 2 Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
  • 3 Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
  • 4 Ocean Frontier Institute, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
  • 5 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, WA, Australia
  • 6 School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
  • 7 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
  • 8 School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
  • 9 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Darwin, NT, Australia
  • 10 School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
  • 11 International Pole and Line Foundation-Maldives, Malé, Republic of Maldives
  • 12 Red Sea Global, Department of Environmental Protection and Regeneration, AlRaidah Digital City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 13 Kap Natirel NGO, Fort l'Olive, Guadeloupe, France
  • 14 Mahonia Na Dari Research and Conservation Centre, Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
  • 15 South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, National Research Foundation, Makhanda, South Africa
  • 16 Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 17 Marine Conservation, Madagascar Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Antananarivo, Madagascar
  • 18 Blue Resources Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 19 Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
  • 20 Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
  • 21 Georgia Aquarium-IUCN Center for Species Survival, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • 22 School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • 23 Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
  • 24 Department of Biology, Albion College, Albion, MI, USA
  • 25 Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
  • 26 Coastal Impact, Goa, India
  • 27 College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
  • 28 Centre Universitaire de Formation et de Recherche de Mayotte, Dembeni, France
  • 29 Paris Sciences Lettres, Centre de Recherche Insulaire et Observatoire de l'Environnement, Opunohu Bay, Papetoai, French Polynesia
  • 30 School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
  • 31 Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
  • 32 Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University & Research, IJmuiden, Netherlands
  • 33 Graduate School for Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
  • 34 Waitt Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
  • 35 Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville, Charlotteville, Trinidad and Tobago
  • 36 Reef Systems Ecology and Conservation Lab, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • 37 Marine Megafauna Foundation, Palm Beach, FL, USA
  • 38 Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
  • 39 College of Arts, Science, and Education, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
  • 40 Centro de Biociências, Departmento de Botânica e Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
  • 41 Instituto de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
  • 42 Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, South Bimini, The Bahamas
  • 43 Sharks and Rays Conservation Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
  • 44 Maldives Marine Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, Malé, Republic of Maldives
  • 45 The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands
  • 46 Pelagios Kakunjá, La Paz, Mexico
  • 47 Center for Shark Research, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
  • 48 Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil
  • 49 Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
  • 50 Operation Wallacea, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, UK
  • 51 Melanesia Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Suva, Fiji
  • 52 Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, USA
  • 53 Kenya Fisheries Service, Mombasa, Kenya
  • 54 Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Kiritimati, Kiribati
  • 55 Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 56 University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
  • 57 School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  • 58 Departamento de Pesquerias, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del IPN, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
  • 59 Yardie Environmental Conservationists Limited, Kingston, Jamaica
  • 60 Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, Palau
  • 61 Departamento de Ecología y Territorio, Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 62 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 63 Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 64 Marine Megafauna Foundation, West Palm, FL, USA
  • 65 Island Conservation Society Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
  • 66 Emirates Nature - World Wide Fund for Nature, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • 67 Saving the Blue, Cooper City, FL, USA
  • 68 Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, USA
  • 69 Inland Fisheries Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
  • 70 Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, Hillarys, WA, Australia
  • 71 CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
  • 72 American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Pago Pago, American Samoa
  • 73 The Centre for Ocean Research and Education, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
  • 74 Blue Sanctuary-Avalon, Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
  • 75 Center for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 76 Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
  • 77 Center for Fisheries Research, Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta Utara, Indonesia
  • 78 Fisheries Department, Universitas Dayanu Ikhsanuddin, Bau Bau, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
  • 79 Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia: Teoria, Aplicação e Valores, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil
  • 80 HJR Reefscaping, Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  • 81 Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Habana, Cuba
  • 82 Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA
  • 83 Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
  • 84 Beacon Development Company, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 85 SalvageBlue, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • 86 School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 87 Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
  • 88 Indo Ocean Project, Jln Toyapakeh DESA Toyapakeh, Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia
  • 89 Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
  • 90 Reef Check Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • 91 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR Entropie (IRD-UR-UNC-CNRS-IFREMER), Nouméa, New Caledonia, France
  • 92 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Apia, Samoa
  • 93 Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
  • 94 School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
  • 95 GIBEAM Research Group, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia
Science, 2023 Jun 16;380(6650):1155-1160.
PMID: 37319199 DOI: 10.1126/science.ade4884

Abstract

A global survey of coral reefs reveals that overfishing is driving resident shark species toward extinction, causing diversity deficits in reef elasmobranch (shark and ray) assemblages. Our species-level analysis revealed global declines of 60 to 73% for five common resident reef shark species and that individual shark species were not detected at 34 to 47% of surveyed reefs. As reefs become more shark-depleted, rays begin to dominate assemblages. Shark-dominated assemblages persist in wealthy nations with strong governance and in highly protected areas, whereas poverty, weak governance, and a lack of shark management are associated with depauperate assemblages mainly composed of rays. Without action to address these diversity deficits, loss of ecological function and ecosystem services will increasingly affect human communities.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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