Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-04T06:28:24.592Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reproductive biology of the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis in the southern Mexican Pacific

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2014

C. Galván-Tirado ,
F. Galván-Magaña  and
R.I. Ochoa-Báez
C. Galván-Tirado
Affiliation:
Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad universitaria, México, DF 04510, México
F. Galván-Magaña*
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, BCS 23096, México
R.I. Ochoa-Báez
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, BCS 23096, México
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F. Galván-Magaña, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, BCS 23096, México email: fgalvan@ipn.mx
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite being one of the most abundant and highly exploited species in the Mexican Pacific Ocean, information on the biology of the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis is limited. The objective of the present study was to describe the reproductive biology of this species, based on 262 sharks (117 females and 145 males) caught from September 2004 to May 2006 in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. The size of females ranged from 70 to 229 cm total length (TL); males measured from 69 to 220 cm TL. Female reproductive organ measurements showed that between 175 and 190 cm TL there was an increase in oviducal gland width (19–45 mm), as well as in uterus size (20–220 mm width). Mature males over 180 cm had calcified claspers, well-developed testes (184–282 mm) and presence of sperm in the seminal vesicles. The estimated length of males at first maturity was 180 cm, and that of females was 190 cm. Ovarian fecundity varied from 4 to 11 oocytes, and uterine fecundity varied from 2 to 14 embryos. We infer that mating occurs between May and June. We did not find sperm storage in the oviducal glands. Birth size was observed to be between 60 and 69 cm TL. No defined gestation period was observed.

Keywords

silky sharkfecundityreproductionMexico
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 95 , Issue 3 , May 2015 , pp. 561 - 567
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alejo, C., Márquez, J.L., Ramos, S. and Herrera, E. (2007) Presencia de neonatos y juveniles del tiburón martillo Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) y del tiburón sedoso Carcharhinus falciformis (Müller & Henle, 1839) en la costa de Oaxaca, México. Revista de Biología marina y Oceanografía 42, 403–413.Google Scholar
Bonfil, R., Mena, R. and de Anda, D. (1993) Biological parameters of commercially exploited silky shark from the Campeche Bank, Mexico. NOAA Technical Report NMFS 115, 73–86.Google Scholar
Branstetter, S. (1981) Biological notes on the sharks of the north central Gulf of México. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences 29, 13–34.Google Scholar
Branstetter, S. (1987) Age, growth and reproductive biology of the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, and the scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Biology of Fishes 19, 161–173.Google Scholar
Castro, J.I. (1983) The Sharks of North American Waters. College Station, TX: Texas A. & M. University Press.Google Scholar
Castro, J.I. (1996) Biology of the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, off the southeastern United States. Bulletin of Marine Science 59, 508–522.Google Scholar
Castro, J.I., Woodley, C.M. and Brudek, R.L. (1999) A preliminary evaluation of the status of shark species. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 380. 72 pp.Google Scholar
Clark, E. and Von Schmidt, K. (1965) Sharks of the central Gulf of coast Florida. Bulletin of Marine Science 15, 13–83.Google Scholar
Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. and Fowler, S. (2005) Sharks of the world. London: Collins.Google Scholar
Conrath, C.L. (2005) Reproductive biology. In Musick, J.A. and Bonfil, R. (eds), Elasmobranch fisheries management techniques. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, No. 474. Rome: FAO, pp. 133–164.Google Scholar
Cortés, E. (2000) Life history patterns and correlations in sharks. Reviews in Fisheries Science 8, 299–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazin, H.V.F., Oliveira, P.G.V. and Macena, P.C.L. (2007) Aspects of the reproductive biology of the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1827), in coastal waters off Pernambuco, Brazil. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 60, 629–635.Google Scholar
Hoening, J.M. and Gruber, S.M. (1990) Life-history patterns in the elasmobranchs, implication for fisheries management. NOAA Technical Reports, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service 90, 1–16.Google Scholar
Hoyos-Padilla, M., Ceballos-Vázquez, B.P. and Galván-Magaña, F. (2012) Reproductive biology of the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) off the west coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology 18, 15–24.Google Scholar
Joung, S.J. and Chen, C.T. (1995) Reproduction in the sandbar, Carcharhinus plumbeus, in the waters off northeastern Taiwan. Copeia 3, 659–665.Google Scholar
Joung, S.J., Chen, C.T., Lee, H.H. and Liu, K.M. (2008) Age, growth and reproduction of silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, in northeastern Taiwan waters. Fisheries Research 90, 78–85.Google Scholar
Lucifora, L.O., Menni, R.C. and Escalante, A.H. (2005) Reproduction and seasonal occurrence of the copper shark Carcharhinus brachyurus from north Patagonia, Argentina. ICES Journal of Marine Science 62, 107–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martoja, R. and Martoja, M. (1970) Técnicas de Histología Animal. Barcelona: Toray-Masson.Google Scholar
Musick, J.A., Branstetter, S. and Colvocoresses, J.A. (1993) Trends in shark abundance from 1974 to 1991 for the Chesapeake Bight region of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Coast. NOAA Technical Reports, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service 115, 1–18.Google Scholar
Natanson, L.J. and Cailliet, G.M. (1986) Reproduction and development of the pacific angel shark, Squatina californica, off Santa Barbara, California. Copeia 1986, 987–994.Google Scholar
Oshitani, S., Nakano, H. and Tanaka, S. (2003) Age and growth of the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis from the Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Sciences 69, 456–464.Google Scholar
Parsons, G.R. and Grier, H.J. (1992) Seasonal changes in sharks testicular structure and spermatogenesis. Journal of Experimental Zoology 261, 173–184.Google Scholar
Pratt, H.L. Jr. (1979) Reproduction in the blue shark Prionce glauca. Fishery Bulletin 77, 445–470.Google Scholar
Pratt, H. and Casey, J. (1990) Shark reproductive strategies as a limiting factor in directed fisheries, with a review of Holden's method of estimating growth parameters. NOAA. Technical Reports, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service 90, 97–109.Google Scholar
Stevens, J.D. and McLoughlin, K.J. (1991) Distribution, size and sex composition, reproductive biology and diet of sharks from northern Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 42, 151–199.Google Scholar
Sulikowski, J.A., Driggers, W.B., Ford, T.S., Boonstra, R.K. and Carlson, J.K. (2007) Reproductive cycle of the blacknose shark Carcharhinus acronotus in the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Fish Biology 70, 428–440.Google Scholar
Taniuchi, T. (1971) Reproduction of the sandbar shark Carcharhinus milberti in the East China Sea. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 18, 94–98.Google Scholar
Uchida, S., Toda, M. and Kamei, Y. (1990) Reproduction of elasmobranchs in captivity. In elasmobranchs as living resources: advances in the biology, ecology, systematics, and the status of the fisheries. NOAA Technical Reports, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service 90, 211–237.Google Scholar
Watson, J.T., Essington, T., Lennert, C.E. and Hall, M.A. (2008) Trade-offs in the design of fishery closures: management of silky shark bycatch in the eastern Pacific Ocean tuna fishery. Conservation Biology 23, 626–635.Google Scholar
Wourms, J.P. (1977) Reproduction and development of condricthyan fishes. American Zoology 17, 379–410.Google Scholar
Yano, K. (1993) Reproductive biology of the slender smoothhound, Gollum attenuatus, collected from New Zealand waters. Environmental Biology of Fishes 38, 59–71.Google Scholar
Yano, K. (1995) Reproductive biology of the black dogfish, Centroscyllium fabricii, collected from waters off western Greenland. Journal of the Marine Biological Association 75, 285–310.Google Scholar