Publications by authors named "B Finucci"
Article Synopsis
- Assessing ocean biodiversity is challenging, with limited global indicators highlighting overfishing as a major threat, impacting shark and ray populations.
- Analysis of 1199 species shows their populations have declined by 50% since 1970, with a 19% increase in extinction risk, particularly in regions with high coastal human populations.
- Sustainable fishing practices and restrictions on threatened species can help prevent further biodiversity loss and maintain ecological balance in marine environments.
Climate change is an environmental emergency threatening species and ecosystems globally. Oceans have absorbed about 90% of anthropogenic heat and 20%-30% of the carbon emissions, resulting in ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, changes in ocean stratification and nutrient availability, and more severe extreme events. Given predictions of further changes, there is a critical need to understand how marine species will be affected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe deep ocean is the last natural biodiversity refuge from the reach of human activities. Deepwater sharks and rays are among the most sensitive marine vertebrates to overexploitation. One-third of threatened deepwater sharks are targeted, and half the species targeted for the international liver-oil trade are threatened with extinction.
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- - Researchers discovered a deepwater skate egg case nursery at around 460 meters depth off Cape Adare in the Southern Ocean, which is significant for skate populations.
- - This is the first confirmed observation of a skate nursery in the Ross Sea and only the second in the entire Southern Ocean.
- - The egg cases are likely from the genus Bathyraja, particularly Bathyraja sp. (cf. eatonii), and the nursery is located within a protected area where commercial fishing is banned.
Sharks and rays are key functional components of coral reef ecosystems, yet many populations of a few species exhibit signs of depletion and local extinctions. The question is whether these declines forewarn of a global extinction crisis. We use IUCN Red List to quantify the status, trajectory, and threats to all coral reef sharks and rays worldwide.
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