Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hays, Graeme C.
• Houghton, Jonathan D.R.
• Thys, Tierney M.
• Adams, Douglas H.
• Ahuir-Baraja, Ana E.
• Alvarez, Jackie
• Baptista, Miguel
• Batista, Hugo
• Baylina, Núria
• Bemis, Katherine E.
• Bemis, William E.
• Caldera, Eric J.
• Carnevale, Giorgio
• Carson, Carol D.
• Correia, João Pedro
• Costa, Pedro Reis
• Daly, Olivia
• Davenport, John
• Dutton, Jessica
• Eagling, Lawrence E.
• Figueiredo, Cátia
• Forsgren, Kristy
• Freese, Marko
• García-Barcelona, Salvador
• Harrod, Chris
• Hearn, Alex
• Hellenbrecht, Lea
• Hilton, Eric J.
• Howard, Michael J.
• Kelly, Rachel
• Kubicek, Lukas
• Lopes, Clara
• Mowatt-Larssen, Tor
• McBride, Richard
• Nakamura, Itsumi
• Nakatsubo, Toshiyuki
• Emily, Nixon
• Nyegaard, Marianne
• Ostalé-Valriberas, Enrique
• Pellegrino, Luca
• Phillips, Natasha D.
• Pope, Edward C.
• Potter, Inga
• Raimundo, Joana
• Riis, Martin
• Rosa, Rui
• Ryan, John P.
• Sawai, Etsuro
• Shinohara, Gento
• Sims, David W.
• Sousa, Lara L.
• Taura, Carlos
• Tholke, Emilee
• Tsukamoto, Katsumi
• Tyler, James C.
• Watanabe, Yuuki Y.
• Weng, Kevin C.
• Whitney, Jonathan L.
• Yusuke, Yamanoue
• S. Ydesen, Kristina S.

Titel

Unresolved Questions About Ocean Sunfishes, Molidae: A Family Comprising Some of the World’s Largest Teleosts

Ist Teil von

• The Ocean Sunfishes, 2021, p.280-295

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

United Kingdom: CRC Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Ocean sunfishes (molids) consist of five currently recognized species of the family Molidae, including the largest teleostean fish, Mola alexandrini (Ranzani 1839), which can exceed a body mass of 2,300 kg. Major developments in our understanding of this group have been driven, in part, by the advent of new methodologies and also by social media, which has helped to increase involvement of citizen scientists. Despite these developments, large knowledge gaps still remain. Here, based on the findings of leading experts in their respective fields, we compile some of the key unresolved questions, most of which revolve around the ecology of wild ocean sunfishes. These questions include: (i) the number of species in each genus; (ii) the extent of movements along coasts, in the open ocean and at depth; (iii) the spatial, temporal and environmental conditions surrounding spawning and spawning grounds; (iv) variation in diet across individuals, sizes and habitats and lastly; (v) the genetic population structure and overall population status and trends of all species. Major, but ill-defined, anthropogenic threats to the group include bycatch in fisheries, impacts of climate change (e.g., ocean warming and acidification), and elemental and plastic pollution. While the considerable progress made has helped unravel many mysteries of the ocean sunfishes, collaborative research is needed to address these remaining gaps and ensure populations across the world ocean can continue to thrive into the future. The ocean sunfishes, family Molidae, currently consist of five species classified in three genera, including the largest of the teleostean fish, Mola alexandrini. Many ocean sunfish mysteries still remain. It is therefore timely to take stock of current knowledge of ocean sunfishes and triage important areas for future research. Experts in the field of ocean sunfish biology were invited to contribute chapters to a book on ocean sunfishes summarizing their fields of expertise and identifying remaining knowledge gaps. While information about ecology of ocean sunfishes in open-ocean areas is lacking, this may be a key habitat. Key questions in molid phylogenetic studies involve the number of valid, extant species of ocean sunfishes. The horizontal range of ocean sunfishes may be changing accordingly, a suggestion further supported by increased sightings in the northern latitudes of Iceland and Norway. Threats to ocean sunfishes are poorly documented although it is known that large numbers are caught as by catch in commercial fisheries.