If scientists lack shark habitat use knowledge, how can they protect them as priority areas for overall species conservation? This allows researchers to analyze species habitat use over individuals’ lifetimes. A team of scientists decided to apply vertebrae microchemistry to investigate habitat use of one particular shark, the smalltail shark (Carcharhinus porosus) in Brazil’s Northern Coast (BNC). “We chose to focus on the smalltail shark because it is a critically endangered species in Brazil from which not a lot of information is available. Smalltail shark vertebrae were sampled from specimens landed in the Raposa municipality in Maranhão state, collected according to the Brazilian environmental laws under the license (License SISBIO, 49663-1).

Source: Forbes May 26, 2020 01:18 UTC