Age and growth estimates for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) over 17 years in Bimini, The Bahamas

Fadool, Baylie A.; Bostick, Kylie G.; Brewster, Lauran R.; Hansell, Alexander C.; Carlson, John K.; Smukall, Matthew J.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2024.1265150

i

Age and growth estimates for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) over 17 years in Bimini, The Bahamas

2024
By Fadool, Baylie A. ; Bostick, Kylie G. ; Brewster, Lauran R. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Frontiers in Marine Science
Personal Author:

Fadool, Baylie A. ; Bostick, Kylie G. ; Brewster, Lauran R. ; Hansell, Alexander C. ; Carlson, John K. ; Smukall, Matthew J.
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) ; SEFSC (Southeast Fisheries Science Center)
Description:

Age and growth estimates are essential for life history modeling in elasmobranchs and are used to inform accurate conservation and management decisions. The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is abundant in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, yet many aspects of their life history remain relatively understudied, aside from their reproductive behavior. We used mark-recapture data of 91 individual G. cirratum from Bimini, The Bahamas, from 2003 to 2020, to calculate von Bertalanffy (vB) growth parameters, empirical growth rate, and age derived from the resulting length-at-age estimates. The Fabens method for estimating growth from mark-recapture methods was applied through a Bayesian framework using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. This provided growth parameters with an asymptotic total length (L∞) of 303.28 cm and a growth coefficient (k) of 0.04 yr-1. The average growth rate for G. cirratum was approximately 8.68 ± 6.00 cm yr-1. This study also suggests that the previous maximum age for G. cirratum is likely underestimated, with the oldest individual predicted to be 43 years old. Our study is the first to present vB growth parameters and a growth curve for G. cirratum. It indicates that this species is slow-growing and long-lived, which improves our understanding of their life history.
Keywords:

Aquatic Science Global And Planetary Change Ocean Engineering Oceanography Water Science And Technology Global And Planetary Change Water Science And Technology Global And Planetary Change Water Science And Technology
Source:

Frontiers in Marine Science, 11
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1265150
ISSN:

2296-7745
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

Frontiers Media SA
Document Type:

Journal Article
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:e8ea1d225cf70c309d15fa10b41640307ed0431fa5918e96192868c06a31cebe
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/60641/noaa_60641_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.27 MB ]

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