International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial... more International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial and marine wildlife. The demand for and consumption of gill plates (known as Peng Yu Sai, "Fish Gill of Mobulid Ray") from devil and manta rays (subfamily Mobulinae, collectively referred to as mobulids) poses a significant threat to these marine fishes because of their extremely low productivity. The demand for these gill plates has driven an international trade supplied by largely unmonitored and unregulated catches from target and incidental fisheries around the world. Scientific research, conservation campaigns, and legal protections for devil rays have lagged behind those for manta rays despite similar threats across all mobulids. To investigate the difference in attention given to devil rays and manta rays, we examined trends in the scientific literature and updated species distribution maps for all mobulids. Using available information on target and incidental fisheries...
Information regarding population structure and genetic connectivity is an important contribution ... more Information regarding population structure and genetic connectivity is an important contribution when establishing conservation strategies to manage threatened species. The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, is a highly migratory, large-bodied, pelagic shark listed by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List as "vulnerable" throughout its range and "critically endangered" in the western north Atlantic. In 2014, the species was protected globally under Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), limiting and regulating trade. This study used partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region to determine the population genetic structure of oceanic whitetip sharks across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. 724 base pairs were obtained from 215 individuals that identifed nine polymorphic sites and defined 12 distinct haplotypes. Total nucleotide diversity (π) was 0.0013 and haplotype ...
Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology, 2015
Little is known about the ecological and physiological processes governing depth distribution lim... more Little is known about the ecological and physiological processes governing depth distribution limits in species. Temperature and hydrostatic pressure are considered to be two dominant factors. Research has shown that some marine ectotherms are shifting their bathymetric distributions in response to rapid anthropogenic ocean surface warming. Shallow-water species unable to undergo latitudinal range shifts may depend on bathymetric range shifts to seek refuge from warming surface waters. As a first step in constraining the molecular basis of pressure tolerance in shallow water crustaceans, we examined differential gene expression in response to acute pressure and temperature exposures in juveniles of the shallow-water shrimp Palaemonetes varians. Significant increases in the transcription of genes coding for an NMDA receptor-regulated protein, an ADP ribosylation factor, β-actin, two heat shock protein 70 kDa isoforms (HSP70), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were ...
Mobulid rays are targeted in fisheries for their branchial plates, for use in Chinese medicine. B... more Mobulid rays are targeted in fisheries for their branchial plates, for use in Chinese medicine. Branchial
plate and muscle tissue from Mobula japanica were collected from fish markets in Sri Lanka, and muscle
tissue biopsies from Manta alfredi in Australia. These were analysed for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury
and compared to maximum levels (MLs) set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ),
European Commission (EC) and Codex Alimentarius Commission. The estimated intake for a vulnerable
human age group was compared to minimal risk levels set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry. The mean inorganic arsenic concentration in M. japanica muscle was equivalent to
the FSANZ ML while cadmium exceeded the EC ML. The mean concentration of lead in M. alfredi muscle
tissue exceeded EC and Codex MLs. There were significant positive linear correlations between branchial
plate and muscle tissue concentrations for arsenic, cadmium and lead.
International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial... more International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial and marine wildlife. The demand for and consumption of gill plates (known as Peng Yu Sai, "Fish Gill of Mobulid Ray") from devil and manta rays (subfamily Mobulinae, collectively referred to as mobulids) poses a significant threat to these marine fishes because of their extremely low productivity. The demand for these gill plates has driven an international trade supplied by largely unmonitored and unregulated catches from target and incidental fisheries around the world. Scientific research, conservation campaigns, and legal protections for devil rays have lagged behind those for manta rays despite similar threats across all mobulids. To investigate the difference in attention given to devil rays and manta rays, we examined trends in the scientific literature and updated species distribution maps for all mobulids. Using available information on target and incidental fisheries...
Information regarding population structure and genetic connectivity is an important contribution ... more Information regarding population structure and genetic connectivity is an important contribution when establishing conservation strategies to manage threatened species. The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, is a highly migratory, large-bodied, pelagic shark listed by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List as "vulnerable" throughout its range and "critically endangered" in the western north Atlantic. In 2014, the species was protected globally under Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), limiting and regulating trade. This study used partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region to determine the population genetic structure of oceanic whitetip sharks across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. 724 base pairs were obtained from 215 individuals that identifed nine polymorphic sites and defined 12 distinct haplotypes. Total nucleotide diversity (π) was 0.0013 and haplotype ...
Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology, 2015
Little is known about the ecological and physiological processes governing depth distribution lim... more Little is known about the ecological and physiological processes governing depth distribution limits in species. Temperature and hydrostatic pressure are considered to be two dominant factors. Research has shown that some marine ectotherms are shifting their bathymetric distributions in response to rapid anthropogenic ocean surface warming. Shallow-water species unable to undergo latitudinal range shifts may depend on bathymetric range shifts to seek refuge from warming surface waters. As a first step in constraining the molecular basis of pressure tolerance in shallow water crustaceans, we examined differential gene expression in response to acute pressure and temperature exposures in juveniles of the shallow-water shrimp Palaemonetes varians. Significant increases in the transcription of genes coding for an NMDA receptor-regulated protein, an ADP ribosylation factor, β-actin, two heat shock protein 70 kDa isoforms (HSP70), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were ...
Mobulid rays are targeted in fisheries for their branchial plates, for use in Chinese medicine. B... more Mobulid rays are targeted in fisheries for their branchial plates, for use in Chinese medicine. Branchial
plate and muscle tissue from Mobula japanica were collected from fish markets in Sri Lanka, and muscle
tissue biopsies from Manta alfredi in Australia. These were analysed for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury
and compared to maximum levels (MLs) set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ),
European Commission (EC) and Codex Alimentarius Commission. The estimated intake for a vulnerable
human age group was compared to minimal risk levels set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry. The mean inorganic arsenic concentration in M. japanica muscle was equivalent to
the FSANZ ML while cadmium exceeded the EC ML. The mean concentration of lead in M. alfredi muscle
tissue exceeded EC and Codex MLs. There were significant positive linear correlations between branchial
plate and muscle tissue concentrations for arsenic, cadmium and lead.
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Papers by Daniel Fernando
plate and muscle tissue from Mobula japanica were collected from fish markets in Sri Lanka, and muscle
tissue biopsies from Manta alfredi in Australia. These were analysed for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury
and compared to maximum levels (MLs) set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ),
European Commission (EC) and Codex Alimentarius Commission. The estimated intake for a vulnerable
human age group was compared to minimal risk levels set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry. The mean inorganic arsenic concentration in M. japanica muscle was equivalent to
the FSANZ ML while cadmium exceeded the EC ML. The mean concentration of lead in M. alfredi muscle
tissue exceeded EC and Codex MLs. There were significant positive linear correlations between branchial
plate and muscle tissue concentrations for arsenic, cadmium and lead.
plate and muscle tissue from Mobula japanica were collected from fish markets in Sri Lanka, and muscle
tissue biopsies from Manta alfredi in Australia. These were analysed for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury
and compared to maximum levels (MLs) set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ),
European Commission (EC) and Codex Alimentarius Commission. The estimated intake for a vulnerable
human age group was compared to minimal risk levels set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry. The mean inorganic arsenic concentration in M. japanica muscle was equivalent to
the FSANZ ML while cadmium exceeded the EC ML. The mean concentration of lead in M. alfredi muscle
tissue exceeded EC and Codex MLs. There were significant positive linear correlations between branchial
plate and muscle tissue concentrations for arsenic, cadmium and lead.