Status and the potential for extinction of the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis in the Atlantic Ocean

Fernandez-Carvalho, Joana; Imhoff, Johanna L.; Faria, Vicente V.; Carlson, John K.; Burgess, George H.

Publication

Status and the potential for extinction of the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis in the Atlantic Ocean

2013Journal article

dc.contributor.author	Fernandez-Carvalho, Joana
dc.contributor.author	Imhoff, Johanna L.
dc.contributor.author	Faria, Vicente V.
dc.contributor.author	Carlson, John K.
dc.contributor.author	Burgess, George H.
dc.date.accessioned	2017-01-17T11:14:18Z
dc.date.available	2017-01-17T11:14:18Z
dc.date.issued	2013
dc.description.abstract	1. Sawfishes currently are among the most threatened elasmobranchs in the world. Only two species inhabit Atlantic waters: the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) and the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), both having suffered dramatic declines in their ranges. 2. The goal of this study was to evaluate the status of P. pristis in the Atlantic, and estimate local extinction risk based on historical and recent occurrence records. In order to accomplish these goals, a thorough search for historical and recent records of P. pristis in the Atlantic was conducted, by reviewing scientific and popular literature, museum specimens, and contacting regional scientists from the species’ historical range. 3. In total, 801 P. pristis records (1830–2009) document its occurrence in four major regions in the Atlantic: USA (n =41), Mexico and Central America (n =535), South America (n=162), and West Africa (n =48). Locality data were not available for 15 records. 4. Historical abundance centres were the Colorado-San Juan River system in Nicaragua and Costa Rica (and secondarily Lake Izabal of Guatemala), the Amazon estuary, and coastal Guinea-Bissau. 5. Currently, the species faces drastic depletion throughout its entire former range and centres of abundance. It appears to have been extirpated from several areas. The probability of extinction was highest in the USA, northern South America (Colombia to Guyane), and southern West Africa (Cameroon to Namibia). 6. Currently, the Amazon estuary appears to have the highest remaining abundance of P. pristis in the Atlantic, followed by the Colorado–San Juan River system in Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Bissagos Archipelago in Guinea Bissau. Therefore the protection of these populations is crucial for the preservation and recovery of the species.	pt_PT
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi	10.1002/aqc.2394	pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn	1052-7613
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/8938
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.publisher	Wiley	pt_PT
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.subject	Conservation evaluation	pt_PT
dc.subject	Endangered species	pt_PT
dc.subject	Estuary	pt_PT
dc.subject	Coastal	pt_PT
dc.subject	Brackish	pt_PT
dc.subject	Fish	pt_PT
dc.title	Status and the potential for extinction of the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis in the Atlantic Ocean	pt_PT
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.title	Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems	pt_PT
rcaap.rights	restrictedAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	article	pt_PT