Endangered mobulids within sustainable use protected areas of southeastern Brazil: occurrence, fisheries impact, and a new prey item

Although mobulids (Mobulidae) are threatened with extinction, basic information about their biology and ecology is still lacking. Therefore, we analyzed impacts of fishing, morphology, coloration, and stomach content of mobulid carcasses stranded on the coast of Ilha Comprida, southeastern Brazil, found in protected areas of sustainable use. The carcasses were of a juvenile female manta ray (believed to be Mobula cf. birostris ), two adult females M. birostris (one with a partially aborted fetus), and two adult M. hypostoma (one female with an aborted fetus, and one male). The stomach content of a M. birostris consisted almost exclusively of a newly reported prey item, the sergestid Acetes americanus , highlighting the variation of prey items in the species’ diet. This is the first record of a pregnant M. birostris in the South Atlantic Ocean and the first account of A. americanus as a mobulid prey item. The reported mobulids have been impacted by fishing activities, even within sustainable use protected areas, highlighting the importance of improving surveillance in the area and the communication between the fishing communities, scientists, and managers for designing better conservation plans for the species. Future research and conservation efforts are urgently needed to better understand the spatial and temporal distribution of mobulids, as well of its prey A. americanus , to further confirm that mobulids use this site as a feeding and nursery area and to reduce the anthropogenic impacts on these endangered populations.