Conservation groups call for more protection for rays as well as sharks in new 10-year strategy

15. Februar 2016

A group of experts from international conservation organizations is announcing a new strategy for combating the decline of sharks and closely related rays, while warning that the rays are even more threatened and less protected than the higher profile sharks.

The call for greater inclusion of rays in conservation action plans is part of Global Priorities for Conserving Sharks and Rays: A 2015-2025 Strategy (PDF, 4.5 MB), released today in conjunction with a Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) meeting on shark conservation currently underway in San José, Costa Rica.

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Cownose rays not to blame for shellfish declines, study says

14. Februar 2016

Researchers led by Florida State scientist counter widely quoted 2007 study linking shark declines to an explosion in rays, which then devoured oysters, clams and scallops

Contrary to earlier research and popular belief, cownose rays are not to blame for declines in oyster and other shellfish stocks in the Chesapeake Bay, a new study asserts.

In a paper published today in the journal Scientific Reports, a team of scientists led by Florida State University’s Dean Grubbs counters a widely cited 2007 study that found that the overfishing of large sharks had led to an explosion in the population of rays, which in turn had devoured bivalves, clams and scallops along the East Coast.

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Foto: Kuhnasenrochen (Rhinopterus bonasus) (c) J. Chladek, D.E.G.

Shark virgin births seen in two generations for the first time

13. Januar 2016

Neue Erkenntnisse zu den Jungfernzeugungen bei Haien: D.E.G.-Mitglied Nicolas Straube konnte mit Kollegen sogar eine zweite Generation nachweisen!

It wasn't a one-off. Virgin births are far more common than we thought, and can continue for multiple generations. These two surprising findings are overturning everything we knew about parthenogenesis.

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