Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population

Aurélien Delaval; Victoria Bendall; Stuart J. Hetherington; Hans J. Skaug; Michelle Frost; Catherine S. Jones; Leslie R. Noble

doi:10.1111/eva.13474

Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population

Aurélien Delaval^* (Corresponding Author), Victoria Bendall, Stuart J. Hetherington, Hans J. Skaug, Michelle Frost, Catherine S. Jones, Leslie R. Noble^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Estimating the demographic parameters of contemporary populations is essential to the success of elasmobranch conservation programmes, and to understanding their recent evolutionary history. For benthic elasmobranchs such as skates, traditional fisheries-independent approaches are often unsuitable as the data may be subject to various sources of bias, whilst low recapture rates can render mark-recapture programmes ineffectual. Close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR), a novel demographic modelling approach based on the genetic identification of close relatives within a sample, represents a promising alternative approach as it does not require physical recaptures. We evaluated the suitability of CKMR as a demographic modelling tool for the critically endangered blue skate (Dipturus batis) in the Celtic Sea using samples collected during fisheries-dependent trammel-net surveys that ran from 2011 to 2017. We identified three full-sibling and 16 half-sibling pairs among 662 skates, which were genotyped across 6291 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms, 15 of which were cross-cohort half-sibling pairs that were included in a CKMR model. Despite limitations owing to a lack of validated life-history trait parameters for the species, we produced the first estimates of adult breeding abundance, population growth rate, and annual adult survival rate for D. batis in the Celtic Sea. The results were compared to estimates of genetic diversity, effective population size (N_e), and to catch per unit effort estimates from the trammel-net survey. Although each method was characterized by wide uncertainty bounds, together they suggested a stable population size across the time-series. Recommendations for the implementation of CKMR as a conservation tool for data-limited elasmobranchs are discussed. In addition, the spatio-temporal distribution of the 19 sibling pairs revealed a pattern of site fidelity in D. batis, and supported field observations suggesting an area of critical habitat that could qualify for protection might occur near the Isles of Scilly.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	461-473
Number of pages	13
Journal	Evolutionary Applications
Volume	16
Issue number	2
Early online date	3 Sept 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13474
Publication status	Published - Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to the various stakeholders involved in the Celtic Sea blue skate monitoring programme, in particular to the crew aboard the FV Govenek of Ladram. We thank Martina Kopp for her assistance in the laboratory, Andrzej Kilian and the Diversity Arrays Technology team (DArT Pty. Ltd., Canberra, Australia) for performing the genotyping work, and Daniel Ruzzante, Eric Anderson, Mark Bravington, and Robin Waples for their inputs during the early stages of the project at a CKMR workshop at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. MF and CSJ received funding from the MASTS (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland), and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. Our thanks also go to Professor Francis Neat for his expertise and advice on Scottish blue skates, and to Samuel Iglésias and Thomas Barreau for sharing valuable insights from their studies on Celtic Sea blue skate.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the Dryad Digital Repository https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n2z34tn0g.

Supporting Information
Additional supporting information can be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of this article.

Keywords

abundance estimation
blue skate
close-kin mark-recapture
conservation
elasmobranch
fisheries

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

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Delaval_etal_EA_Evaluating_The_Suitability_VoR
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Final published version, 1.15 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population. / Delaval, Aurélien (Corresponding Author); Bendall, Victoria; Hetherington, Stuart J. et al.
In: Evolutionary Applications, Vol. 16, No. 2, 02.2023, p. 461-473.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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abstract = "Estimating the demographic parameters of contemporary populations is essential to the success of elasmobranch conservation programmes, and to understanding their recent evolutionary history. For benthic elasmobranchs such as skates, traditional fisheries-independent approaches are often unsuitable as the data may be subject to various sources of bias, whilst low recapture rates can render mark-recapture programmes ineffectual. Close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR), a novel demographic modelling approach based on the genetic identification of close relatives within a sample, represents a promising alternative approach as it does not require physical recaptures. We evaluated the suitability of CKMR as a demographic modelling tool for the critically endangered blue skate (Dipturus batis) in the Celtic Sea using samples collected during fisheries-dependent trammel-net surveys that ran from 2011 to 2017. We identified three full-sibling and 16 half-sibling pairs among 662 skates, which were genotyped across 6291 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms, 15 of which were cross-cohort half-sibling pairs that were included in a CKMR model. Despite limitations owing to a lack of validated life-history trait parameters for the species, we produced the first estimates of adult breeding abundance, population growth rate, and annual adult survival rate for D. batis in the Celtic Sea. The results were compared to estimates of genetic diversity, effective population size (Ne), and to catch per unit effort estimates from the trammel-net survey. Although each method was characterized by wide uncertainty bounds, together they suggested a stable population size across the time-series. Recommendations for the implementation of CKMR as a conservation tool for data-limited elasmobranchs are discussed. In addition, the spatio-temporal distribution of the 19 sibling pairs revealed a pattern of site fidelity in D. batis, and supported field observations suggesting an area of critical habitat that could qualify for protection might occur near the Isles of Scilly.",

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note = "Funding Information: We are grateful to the various stakeholders involved in the Celtic Sea blue skate monitoring programme, in particular to the crew aboard the FV Govenek of Ladram. We thank Martina Kopp for her assistance in the laboratory, Andrzej Kilian and the Diversity Arrays Technology team (DArT Pty. Ltd., Canberra, Australia) for performing the genotyping work, and Daniel Ruzzante, Eric Anderson, Mark Bravington, and Robin Waples for their inputs during the early stages of the project at a CKMR workshop at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. MF and CSJ received funding from the MASTS (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland), and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. Our thanks also go to Professor Francis Neat for his expertise and advice on Scottish blue skates, and to Samuel Igl{\'e}sias and Thomas Barreau for sharing valuable insights from their studies on Celtic Sea blue skate. ",

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AB - Estimating the demographic parameters of contemporary populations is essential to the success of elasmobranch conservation programmes, and to understanding their recent evolutionary history. For benthic elasmobranchs such as skates, traditional fisheries-independent approaches are often unsuitable as the data may be subject to various sources of bias, whilst low recapture rates can render mark-recapture programmes ineffectual. Close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR), a novel demographic modelling approach based on the genetic identification of close relatives within a sample, represents a promising alternative approach as it does not require physical recaptures. We evaluated the suitability of CKMR as a demographic modelling tool for the critically endangered blue skate (Dipturus batis) in the Celtic Sea using samples collected during fisheries-dependent trammel-net surveys that ran from 2011 to 2017. We identified three full-sibling and 16 half-sibling pairs among 662 skates, which were genotyped across 6291 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms, 15 of which were cross-cohort half-sibling pairs that were included in a CKMR model. Despite limitations owing to a lack of validated life-history trait parameters for the species, we produced the first estimates of adult breeding abundance, population growth rate, and annual adult survival rate for D. batis in the Celtic Sea. The results were compared to estimates of genetic diversity, effective population size (Ne), and to catch per unit effort estimates from the trammel-net survey. Although each method was characterized by wide uncertainty bounds, together they suggested a stable population size across the time-series. Recommendations for the implementation of CKMR as a conservation tool for data-limited elasmobranchs are discussed. In addition, the spatio-temporal distribution of the 19 sibling pairs revealed a pattern of site fidelity in D. batis, and supported field observations suggesting an area of critical habitat that could qualify for protection might occur near the Isles of Scilly.

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Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Data from: Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population

Cite this

Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Datasets

Data from: Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population

Cite this