Age, growth and reproduction of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, in Lake Manyame, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Beamish, C A , Booth, Anthony J , Deacon, N
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446770 , vital:74559 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2005.11407310
- Description: A total of 478 largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacépède, 1802), was sampled between September 1997 and July 2001 using hook-and-line in Lake Manyame, a water supply reservoir situated outside Harare, Zimbabwe. Male fish dominated the samples, possibly an effect of aggressive behaviour towards the sampling gear used. Ages, determined from sectioned sagittal otoliths, ranged from one to nine years with 94% of the sample being between one and four years of age. An annulus was deposited in late-winter/early spring. Female fish, despite being the largest fish sampled, were found to grow at a significantly slower rate than males. Growth was modelled with the von Bertalanffy model as L(t)=37.22(1–exp(–0.66t)) cm SL for males, and L(t) = 48.16(1–exp(–0.41t)) cm SL for females. All fish matured after one year, thereafter they spawned over a four-month period between July and October. Reproductive activity peaked in August. Largemouth bass has successfully colonized freshwater bodies in southern Africa where it has been introduced, causing significant ecological damage to the indigenous ichthyofauna. Given its ability to grow to a large size, and live to an old age and to breed successfully, further introductions should be viewed with extreme caution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Incorporating the spatial component of fisheries data into stock assessment models
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2000
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124800 , vital:35698 , https://doi.10.1006/jmsc.2000.0816
- Description: Fisheries-dependent and independent data have a strong spatial component. These data are also multi-dimensional, making them difficult to visualize and analyze, prompting the use of spatial analysis to facilitate an understanding of their relationships. One aspect of fisheries data that is often ignored is the distribution and abundance of a particular resource and the fishing patterns of its harvesting fisheries. In order to improve management advice, stock assessors need to incorporate the spatial component of these data into an existing assessment framework. This paper presents a three-dimensional visualization of the age-structure and fishery dependent and independent data associated with the sparid fish Pterogymnus laniarius on the Agulhas Bank, South Africa. A spatially-referenced spawner biomass per-recruit model is developed to illustrate the applicability of incorporating spatially referenced information in providing management advice. The model provided evidence that, even on a spatial scale, fishing mortality is significantly correlated to fishing effort. Areas of high levels of spawner biomass are noted, all of which corresponded to those geographic areas with a combination of low fishing effort and high adult biomass.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
A description of gametogenesis in the panga Pterogymnus laniarius (Pisces: Sparidae) with comments on changes in maturity patterns over the past two decades
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Hecht, Thomas
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123542 , vital:35452 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02541858.1997.11448428
- Description: A description of gametogenesis in the panga Pferogymnus laniarius, a common endemic seabream species inhabiting the Agulhas Bank, South Africa, is presented. After sexual maturity, oogenesis and spermatogenesis continued throughout the year and were found to be similar to these processes in other seabream species and teleosts in general. Analysis of maturity data over the past two decades revealed a significant change in both age and size-at-maturity, a response to fishing pressure.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Histological validation of gonadal macroscopic staging criteria for Labeo cylindricus (Pisces: Cyprinidae)
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Weyl, Olaf L F
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124593 , vital:35634 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2000.11657094
- Description: Histological examination of gametogenesis revealed that the current staging criteria used to assess gonadal recrudescence of the redeye labeo, Labeo cylindricus, were adequate. Gametogenesis was qualitatively similar to that of freshwater teleosts with a clearly defined seasonal reproductive cycle. L. cylindricus undergoes seasonal gross morphological and cytological gonadal changes with previtellogenesis dominating during the winter, vitellogenic development during spring and summer culminating in large-scale spawning at the end of summer. Post-spawning mass atresia of oocytes was evident in autumn. The histological data presented support macroscopical evidence that L. cylindricus is a synchronous iteroparous spawner, reproducing over a short period each year throughout its life-span.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Spatial aspects of the reproductive and feeding biology of the striped robber, Brycinus lateralis (Pisces: Characidae), in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , McKinlay, Bruce W
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/127020 , vital:35944 , https://doi.10.1080/15627020.2001.11657111
- Description: The Okavango Delta is a vast inland wetland system situated in northern Botswana. High rainfall is received in early summer in the southern Angolan highlands and throughout the Delta with the flood waters reaching the upper riverine floodplain between March and May where it percolates through to the lower drainage rivers between July and September. Aspects of the reproductive and feeding biology of two allopatric populations of the striped robber, Brycinus lateralis, a small characin species inhabiting the northern riverine floodplain and southern drainage rivers, were investigated. Both populations were similar in the biological aspects studied, with the flood cycle having little influence on the timing of reproduction, sexual maturity and dietary composition. Female fish from both populations matured sexually at 57mmSL, breeding over a protracted period during the warm, summer months. In both populations, the sex ratio was female-dominated at 4.8:1 (riverine floodplain) and 2.2:1 (drainage rivers). The striped robber is an opportunistic micro-carnivore with immature fish feeding predominantly on Daphnia spp. and adults being largely insectivorous.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Marine Reserves: a guide to science, design, and use
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124965 , vital:35714 , https://doi.10.2989/16085910509503862
- Description: With the considerable pressures that are being placed on our marine resources, there is an urgent need to find alternative strategies to ensure their long-term sustainability. One measure that has been proposed, and which is rapidly gaining popularity, is the designation of Marine Protected Area (MPA). These are demarcated areas that prohibit (or at least restrict) consumptive or extractive uses, such that human interferences and impacts are minimised. In this edited collection of papers, most of which have been written or co-written by the authors themselves, Sobel and Dahlgren have presented an excellent synopsis of the rationale behind, and the scientific basis underpinning, the use of marine reserves as a management tool. In addition, they have devoted half the book to the provision of case studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches to stock assessment when data are questionable
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Quinn II, T J
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6764 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007962
- Description: This study examines the use of age-structured maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches for stock assessment of the Namibian monkfish, Lophius vomerinus, resource with questionable data, in which time series are short, abundance indices are variable, and research data conflict with commercial data. Bayesian approaches with both noninformative and informative priors are investigated to determine if they enhance estimation stability. Three data scenarios are assessed: commercial and research survey data, research survey data only, and commercial data only. Both statistical approaches show that resource abundance has decreased with exploitable biomass estimated at approximately 44% of pristine levels. The maximum likelihood and the Bayesian approach with noninformative priors result in similar estimates. As the abundance data contained little information pertaining to possible density dependence within the stock–recruit relationship, only a Bayesian approach with informative priors reduces uncertainty in the steepness parameter h. Estimated management quantities are sensitive both to the set of data sources and whether prior information was informative or not. The strengths of the Bayesian approach include the integration of prior information with uncertain data, the exploration of data conflicts, and the ability to show the uncertainty in estimates of management parameters. Its weakness is that estimation stability is dependent on the choice of priors, which alters some posterior distributions of management quantities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
A histological description of ovarian recrudescence in two Labeo victorianus populations
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Hecht, Thomas
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123564 , vital:35455 , https://doi.org/10.2989/16085910409503813
- Description: The ovaries of Labeo victorianus are paired organs situated in the peritoneal cavity and suspended on either side of the midline by a mesovarium. A capsule, composed of dense, regularly-arranged collagen and elastic fibres mixed with a few smooth muscle cells, enclosed the ovaries and gave off connective tissue septa, forming the ovigerous lamellae, which contained germ and follicle cells. Eight discrete stages of recrudescence were identified: oogonia, chromatin nucleolar oocytes, perinucleolar oocytes, primary yolk vesicle oocytes, secondary yolk vesicle oocytes, tertiary yolk vesicle oocytes, post-ovulatory follicles and atretic oocytes. Ovulation seemed to be synchronised with the onset of rainfall, with some deviations in the Sio River population. Gonadosomatic index variation followed a bimodal pattern, with maxima between January–February and between September–October for both populations. The same pattern was exhibited for both rainfall and water levels at the two study sites. Successful ovulation was followed by the formation of post-ovulatory follicles and Type I atresia, while failed spawning was characterised by Type II atresia. Clearance of post-ovulatory follicles was by phagocytosis and formation of melanomacrophage centres. There were variations in post-ovulatory changes between the two populations. Reproductive patterns in the Kagera River population conformed to the ‘norm’ in African labeines of the synchronisation of spawning with rainfall. Slight deviations from this pattern were, however, observed in the Sio River population where spawning occurred prior to the onset of rainfall.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Age validation, growth, mortality, and demographic modeling of spotted gully shark (Triakis megalopterus) from the southeast coast of South Africa
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Foulis, Alan J , Smale, Malcolm J
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123630 , vital:35466 , https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/2011/1091/booth.pdf
- Description: This study documents validation of vertebral band-pair formation in spotted gully shark (Triakis megalopterus) with the use of f luorochrome injection and tagging of captive and wild sharks over a 21-year period. Growth and mortality rates of T. megalopterus were also estimated and a demographic analysis of the species was conducted. Of the 23 OTC (oxytetracycline) -marked vertebrae examined (12 from captive and 11 from wild sharks), seven vertebrae (three from captive and four from wild sharks) exhibited chelation of the OTC and f luoresced under ultraviolet light. It was concluded that a single opaque and translucent band pair was deposited annually up to at least 25 years of age, the maximum age recorded. Reader precision was assessed by using an index of average percent error calculated at 5%. No significant differences were found between male and female growth patterns (P>0.05), and von Bertalanffy growth model parameters for combined sexes were estimated to be L∞=1711.07 mm TL, k=0.11/yr and t0= –2.43 yr (n=86). Natural mortality was estimated at 0.17/yr. Age at maturity was estimated at 11 years for males and 15 years for females. Results of the demographic analysis showed that the population, in the absence of fishing mortality, was stable and not significantly different from zero and particularly sensitive to overfishing. At the current age at first capture and natural mortality rate, the fishing mortality rate required to result in negative population growth was low at F>0.004/ yr. Elasticity analysis revealed that juvenile survival was the principal factor in explaining variability in population growth rate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Adult African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, population dynamics in a small invaded warm-temperate impoundment
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Traas, Graham R L , Weyl, Olaf L F
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123596 , vital:35461 , https://doi.10.3377/004.045.0208
- Description: African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822), is a potamodromous species that is naturally distributed from Turkey to the Orange River, South Africa (Skelton 1993). It is omnivorous, feeding on plankton, vegetation, invertebrates, carrion and fish (de Moor & Bruton 1988) and may exhibit pack-hunting behaviour when foraging for small fish (Bruton 1979; Merron 1993). Clarias gariepinus is a large (>150 cm TL, >30 kg; Bruton 1976), long-lived (validated to at least 15 years, Weyl & Booth 2008) and fast-growing (Bruton & Allanson 1980; Quick & Bruton 1984; Richardson et al. 2009) fish that attains sexual maturity within two years of age (de Moor & Bruton 1988). It is eurythermic (80–35°C), mesohalic (0–10 ppt) and has the ability to airbreathe. These attributes predispose it to surviving in all but the most adverse of conditions and have directly contributed to its wide use as an aquaculture species. These attributes have also contributed to its ability to invade waterbodies beyond its natural range (de Moor & Bruton 1988) and after inadvertent introductions such as by escape from aquaculture facilities or through water transfer schemes, C. gariepinus has established populations in many non-native environments. Such invasions include the Philippines (Mercene 1997), Bangladesh (Arthur & Ahmed 2002), Thailand (Vidthayanon 2005), India (Bhakta & Bandyopadhyay 2007) and Brazil (Cambray 2005; Vitule et al. 2006; Rocha & Schiavetti 2007). In South Africa, C. gariepinus invaded the temperate Great Fish River catchment after the species was translocated from the Orange River through a Interbasin Water Transfer (IBWT) scheme (Laurenson et al. 1989). Potential threats include predation of and competition with indigenous species, habitat degradation, and the spread of diseases and parasites (Dudgeon et al. 2006).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
On the life history of the lesser gurnard (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae) inhabiting the Agulhas Bank, South Africa
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125434 , vital:35782 , https://doi.10.1111/j.1095-8649.1997.tb01133.x
- Description: Fishes of the genus Labeo are widely distributed throughout Africa and consist of at least 80 species which comprise 16.4% of the African cyprinid ichthyofauna (Reid 1985). Most labeo species are also commercially important throughout the African continent, having contributed significantly to various fisheries. Their roe (sensu caviar) is often harvested as an additional bycatch (Skelton et al. 1991). Despite their obvious importance, the few studies that have investigated aspects of their life history have been conducted on the larger commercial species (Lowe 1952, Mulder 1973, Balon et al. 1974, Potgieter 1974, Baird 1976, Tomasson et al. 1984, van Zyl et al. 1995).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
A description of gametogenesis in the panga Pterogymnus laniarius (Pisces: Sparidae) with comments on changes in maturity patterns over the past two decades
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Hecht, Thomas
- Date: 1997
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446930 , vital:74571 , https://www.ajol.info/index.php/az/article/view/154565
- Description: A description of gametogenesis in the panga Pferogymnus laniarius, a common endemic seabream species inhabiting the Agulhas Bank, South Africa, is presented. After sexual maturity, oogenesis and spermatogenesis continued throughout the year and were found to be similar to these processes in other seabream species and teleosts in general. Analysis of maturity data over the past two decades revealed a significant change in both age and size-at-maturity, a response to fishing pressure.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
Adult African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, population dynamics in a small invaded warm-temperate impoundment
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Traasg, Graham L , Weyl, Olaf L F
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446759 , vital:74558 , https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15627020.2010.11657279
- Description: African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, is a successful aquatic invader as it has a eurytopic physiology, is highly fecund, grows quickly and has an omnivorous diet. Despite possible threats that include predation of and competition with indigenous species, habitat degradation, and the spread of diseases and parasites, there is a lack of knowledge regarding its ecology and population dynamics within invaded systems. This study presents a mark–recapture experiment to investigate its population structure, natural mortality rate, population size and density within a population inhabiting a small, 76 ha invaded water supply reservoir in the temperate Eastern Cape region, South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Spatial aspects of the reproductive and feeding biology of the striped robber, Brycinus lateralis (Pisces: Characidae), in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , McKinlay, Bruce W
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446838 , vital:74564 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2001.11657111
- Description: The Okavango Delta is a vast inland wetland system situated in northern Botswana. High rainfall is received in early summer in the southern Angolan highlands and throughout the Delta with the flood waters reaching the upper riverine floodplain between March and May where it percolates through to the lower drainage rivers between July and September. Aspects of the reproductive and feeding biology of two allopatric populations of the striped robber, Brycinus lateralis, a small characin species inhabiting the northern riverine floodplain and southern drainage rivers, were investigated. Both populations were similar in the biological aspects studied, with the flood cycle having little influence on the timing of reproduction, sexual maturity and dietary composition. Female fish from both populations matured sexually at 57 mm SL, breeding over a protracted period during the warm, summer months. In both populations, the sex ratio was female-dominated at 4.8:1 (riverine floodplain) and 2.2:1 (drainage rivers). The striped robber is an opportunistic micro-carnivore with immature fish feeding predominantly on Daphnia spp. and adults being largely insectivorous.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Histological validation of gonadal macroscopic staging criteria for Labeo cylindricus (Pisces: Cyprinidae).
- Authors: Booth, Anthony J , Weyl, Olaf L F
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446824 , vital:74563 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC17754
- Description: Histological examination of gametogenesis revealed that the current staging criteria used to assess gonadal recrudescence of the redeye labeo, Labeo cylindricus, were adequate. Gametogenesis was qualitatively similar to that of freshwater teleosts with a clearly defined seasonal reproductive cycle. L. cylindricus undergoes seasonal gross morphological and cytological gonadal changes with previtellogenesis dominating during the winter, vitellogenic development during spring and summer culminating in large-scale spawning at the end of summer. Post-spawning mass atresia of oocytes was evident in autumn. The histological data presented support macroscopical evidence that L. cylindricus is a synchronous iteroparous spawner, reproducing over a short period each year throughout its life-span.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Estuarine use by spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii in a South African estuary, as determined by acoustic telemetry
- Authors: Childs, Amber-Robyn , Cowley, Paul D , Næsje, T F , Booth, Anthony J , Potts, Warren M , Thorstad, Eva B , Økland, F
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124428 , vital:35612 , https://doi.org/10.2989/A JMS.2008.30.1.12.462
- Description: Estuaries are important in the life history and the maintenance of the diversity of coastal fish species because of their function as nursery areas for juveniles as well as feeding grounds for adults (Cyrus 1991). The dependence of many fish species on estuaries is well documented (e.g. Wallace et al. 1984, Lenanton and Potter 1987, Blaber et al. 1989, Whitfield 1990, Hoss and Thayer 1993). Spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii (Haemulidae) (Lacepède 1801) is an estuarine-dependent species which spawns in the KwaZulu-Natal inshore coastal waters, between August and December (Wallace 1975b, Wallace and van der Elst 1975, Harris and Cyrus 1997, 1999). The eggs and larvae are transported southwards by the Agulhas Current, and juveniles between 20 mm and 50 mm TL recruit into the KwaZulu-Natal and south-eastern Cape estuaries (Wallace and van der Elst 1975, Whitfield 1990). Juvenile spotted grunter make use of the abundant food resources in estuaries, where they grow rapidly and remain for a period of 1–3 years (Wallace and Schleyer 1979, Day et al. 1981). Upon attaining sexual maturity (at between 300 mm and 400 mm TL), they return to the marine environment (Wallace 1975b). Some adults, however, return to estuaries to feed and to regain condition after spawning (Wallace 1975b, Whitfield 1994). The return of post-spawning fish coincides with increased catches by fishers in estuaries between July and January. These events are known as ‘grunter runs’ (Wallace 1975a, Marais and Baird 1980, Marais 1988, Pradervand and Baird 2002). It is suggested that adults spend up to several months in estuaries, before moving back to sea where they undergo gonadal development and ultimately spawn (Wallace 1975b, Wallace and van der Elst 1975). It is believed that adult fish also enter estuaries in a prespawning state to gain condition en route to their spawning grounds in KwaZulu-Natal (Webb 2002).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Do environmental factors influence the movement of estuarine fish? A case study using acoustic telemetry
- Authors: Childs, Amber-Robyn , Cowley, Paul D , Næsje, T F , Booth, Anthony J , Thorstad, Eva B , Økland, F
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6772 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008070
- Description: Telemetry methods were used to investigate the influence of selected environmental variables on the position and movement of an estuarine-dependent haemulid, the spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii (Lacepède 1801), in the Great Fish Estuary, South Africa. Forty individuals (263–698 mm TL) were surgically implanted with acoustic coded transmitters and manually tracked during two periods (7 February to 24 March 2003; n = 20 and 29 September to 15 November 2003; n = 20). Real-time data revealed that spotted grunter are euryhaline (0–37) and are able to tolerate large variations in turbidity (4–356 FTU) and temperature (16–30 °C). However, the fish altered their position in response to large fluctuations in salinity, temperature and turbidity, which are characteristic of tidal estuarine environments. Furthermore, tidal phase had a strong influence on the position of spotted grunter in the estuary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure
- Authors: Claassens, Louw , Booth, Anthony J , Hodgson, Alan N
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123718 , vital:35486 , https://doi.10.1007/s10641-018-0732-4
- Description: The development of a residential marina estate within the Knysna estuary, South Africa, introduced Reno mattresses (horizontal wire cages filled with rocks) as a novel habitat for the endangered Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis. Consistently high seahorse densities on these artificial structures, despite the availability of seagrass habitat, begged the question of whether this habitat was chosen by the seahorse in preference to natural vegetation. An in situ habitat choice experiment was conducted which focused on the choice made by adult H. capensis between natural vegetation (Zostera capensis) and artificial (Reno mattress) habitat within a choice chamber. Seahorses were significantly more likely to move away from Z. capensis onto a Reno mattress structure or remain on this structure. This study concludes that higher H. capensis densities on Reno mattresses within Thesen Islands Marina are owing to some positive feature of this habitat and the underlying processes responsible for the choice made by this species (additional food, holdfasts, protection) can now be investigated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Shark fishing effort and catch of the ragged-tooth shark Carcharias taurus in the South African competitive shore-angling fishery
- Authors: Dicken, Matthew L , Booth, Anthony J , Smale, Malcolm J
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/126944 , vital:35937 , https://doi.10.2989/18142320609504209
- Description: In South Africa, Carcharias taurus is commonly known as the ragged-tooth shark or raggie. The species is also referred to as the sand-tiger shark in North America and as the grey-nurse shark in Australia. It is a long-lived species with an estimated longevity of up to 40 years (Goldman 2002). Female sharks reach sexual maturity at approximately 10 years (Goldman 2002), and they exhibit a biennial reproductive cycle (Branstetter and Musick 1994, Lucifora et al. 2002, G Cliff, Natal Sharks Board, unpublished data). Intra-uterine cannibalisation results in a maximum fecundity of two pups per litter after a gestation period of approximately 9–12 months (Bass et al. 1975, Gilmore et al. 1983). These life-history characteristics make this species particularly susceptible to overexploitation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Spatial and seasonal distribution patterns of the ragged-tooth shark Carcharias taurus along the coast of South Africa
- Authors: Dicken, Matthew L , Booth, Anthony J , Smale, Malcolm J
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/127008 , vital:35943 , https://doi.10.2989/18142320609504210
- Description: Off South Africa, the ragged-tooth shark Carcharias Taurus has been occasionally reported from the West Coast, but it is more commonly found along the East and South coasts from Cape Town to northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) (Bass et al. 1975, Smale 2002). Mating is thought to occur off the south coast of KZN from October to late November (G Cliff, Natal Sharks Board, unpublished data). Pregnant females then move northward to spend the early part of their gestation in the warmer waters of northern KZN and possibly southern Moçambique. During July and August, the near-term pregnant females begin to move southwards towards the cooler waters of the Eastern Cape (Wallett 1973, Bass et al. 1975, G Cliff, unpublished data), where they give birth from September to November (Smale 2002). After parturition, many of the females migrate back to KZN. The whereabouts of mature males outside of the mating season is unclear. These broadscale distribution and migratory habits for C. taurus have been inferred from limited catch records obtained for only parts of its range along the South African coast.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010