Fig 1.
Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) identified in the Central and South American Pacific region.
(a) Three-letter codes inside the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) represent the corresponding jurisdictions. CHL: Chile, COL: Colombia, CRI: Costa Rica, ECU: Ecuador, FRA: France, GTM: Guatemala, HND: Honduras, MEX: Mexico, NIC: Nicaragua, PAN: Panama, PER: Peru, SLV: El Salvador. (b) Numbers represent each subregion within the Central and South American Pacific region. 1: Gulf of California, 2: Offshore Eastern Pacific, 3: Pacific Central American Coastal, 4: Southeast Pacific, 5: Humboldt Current, 6: South American Southern Ocean. EEZ boundaries were reprinted from Flanders Marine Institute (2023) Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM), version 12. Available online at https://www.marineregions.org/. https://doi.org/10.14284/632 under a CC BY 4.0 international license.
Table 1.
Types of biological and ecological data sources and research methods used to support the application of the ISRA Criteria. YOY (young-of-the-year), LEK (local ecological knowledge), eDNA (environmental DNA), BRUVS (baited remote underwater video systems), ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle), DOV (diver operated video), and UVC (underwater visual census).
Table 2.
Type of studies included in research topics focused on chondrichthyans in the Central and South American Pacific region.
Table 3.
Number of shark, ray, and chimaera species considered as Qualifying Species based on each Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) Criteria in the Central and South American Pacific region. Numbers in parentheses represent the percentage of species meeting the ISRA Criteria relative to the 190 species reported for this region (except for Criterion A – Vulnerability).
Fig 2.
The six subregions of the Central and South American Pacific with information on the number of ISRA (in parenthesis) delineated and the ISRA Criteria applied in each.
Two movement areas spanned multiple subregions and were not included in this figure. ISRA Criteria are: A: Vulnerability; B: Range Restricted; C1: Reproductive Areas; C2: Feeding Areas; C3: Resting Areas; C4: Movement Areas; C5: Undefined Aggregations; D1: Distinctiveness; D2: Diversity.
Fig 3.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species extinction risk status for the 75 Qualifying Species in Important Shark and Ray Areas in the Central and South American Pacific.
CR: Critically Endangered; EN: Endangered; VU: Vulnerable, NT: Near Threatened; LC: Least Concern; DD: Data Deficient.
Fig 4.
Shark, ray, and chimaera families included as Qualifying Species within an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRAs) in the Central and South American Pacific region.
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of species for each family occurring in the Central and South American Pacific.
Fig 5.
Spatial overlap between Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) identified under Criterion B - Range Restricted with areas of high richness for range-restricted species in the Central and South American Pacific region.
(a) Gulf of California, (b) Pacific Central American Coastal, (c) southern part of Pacific Central American Coastal and northern part of Humboldt Current, and (d) Humboldt Current.
Fig 6.
Spatial overlap between Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) identified under Sub-criterion D2 - Diversity with diversity hotspots in the Central and South American Pacific region.
(a) Gulf of California, (b) Pacific Central American Coastal, (c) southern part of Pacific Central American Coastal and northern part of Humboldt Current, and (d) Humboldt Current.
Fig 7.
Reference analysis for contemporary (<20 years old) shark, ray, and chimaera research in the Central and South American Pacific region.
(a) Spatial trends (b) Topic research trends. QS: Qualifying Species, SS: Supporting Species, ABNJ: Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.