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A journal dedicated to conservation and wildlife management in the Pacific region.
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The shortfin devilray (Mobula kuhlii) aggregates at Pulau Si Amil, Sabah, Malaysia

David McCann https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0968-1952 A * , Catherine McCann A * , C. M. Yew B , Gonzalo Araujo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4708-3638 C and B. Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0375-7458 B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Persatuan Pendidikan Laut Kesedaran Sabah, c/o Scuba Junkie, PO Box 458, Block B Lot 36, 91308 Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia.

B Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

C Marine Research and Conservation Foundation, Somerset, TA4 3SJ, UK.


Handling Editor: Mike van Keulen

Pacific Conservation Biology 28(6) 532-537 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21017
Submitted: 20 March 2021  Accepted: 14 November 2021   Published: 16 December 2021

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Mobula kuhlii (Müller and Henle 1841) is a small species of devilray of the family Mobulidae. The species was recently uplisted to endangered on the IUCN Red List due to inferred population declines of >50% across much of its range. Here, we report aggregating behaviour of this little-known species at Pulau Si Amil, Sabah, Malaysia, in the western Sulawesi Sea. We report observations of schooling behaviour with encounters of groups of 20–100 individuals of M. kuhlii at Pulau Si Amil between May 2014 and July 2015. The limited reproductive output and low recovery rate of mobulid rays make these species particularly susceptible to overexploitation. It is therefore essential to identify areas of importance for these species in order to facilitate further research to delineate conservation and management plans.

Keywords: citizen science, conservation, diving, ecology, elasmobranch, marine conservation, Mobulidae, schooling behaviour, Semporna, Sulawesi Sea.


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