Age and growth of three endemic threatened guitarfishes Pseudobatos horkelii, P. percellens and Zapteryx brevirostris in the western South Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Caltabellotta, Fabio P., Siders, Zachary A., Murie, Debra J., Motta, Fabio S., Cailliet, Gregor M., Gadig, Otto B. F.
• Other Authors: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2019
• Subjects: fisheries management; growth modelling; life history; population dynamics; shark-like batoids; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11449/197314; https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14123

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Processo FAPESP: #2010/02397-7 Processo FAPESP: #2012/00713-4 The age and growth of three endemic threatened guitarfish species were analysed using vertebrae of Pseudobatos horkelii, P. percellens and Zapteryx brevirostris. Edge and marginal-increment analyses were used to evaluate the periodicity of the formation of the band-pairs, suggesting deposition of one band-pair per year, from late winter to late spring. The von Bertalanffy growth model was used to describe the growth of these species with the following parameters, for pooled sexes: P. horkelii L-infinity = 126.93, k = 0.19 and t(0) = -1.51; P. percellens L-infinity = 109.31, k = 0.16 and t(0) = -1.78; Z. brevirostris L-infinity = 60.37, k = 0.24 and t(0) = -1.42. Our results are essential to understanding the resilience and vulnerability of these species to harvest, which can contribute to management and conservation actions of these species.