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https://theconversation.com/i-will-miss-them-if-they-are-gone-stingrays-are-underrated-sharks-we-dont-know-enough-about-186214>
"Have you ever done the “stingray shuffle”? If you live by the coast, you’ve
probably taken this precaution to frighten off any buried stingrays as you wade
into the water. Breath easy – your chances of getting stuck with a nasty barb
are slim.
Any thoughts we have about stingrays usually end once danger is averted, but
these fascinating creatures are much more than an inconvenience for beachgoers.
Stingrays are flat-bodied sharks that live in almost all marine environments
worldwide. In fact, there are over 600 recognised species – most of which we
know very little about. Even in the research world, we struggle to answer
simple questions such as: which areas are most valuable for stingray
populations and why?
The mangrove whipray (
Urogymnus granulatus) is one such species. Aptly named,
mangrove whiprays feel at home gliding through submerged mangrove roots in the
tropical coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific and Northeast Australia.
Unfortunately, they are at risk of decline and localised extinctions.
As a scientist who studies them, I attest these rather ordinary, mud-covered
stingrays are beautiful, and I never tire of watching them. We have to ask
ourselves: would it make any difference if these rays were here or not? How
relevant are they for ecosystem health?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
