Can the Caribbean sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon porosus Poey, 1861 be used as a ‘flagship umbrella species’ in an artificial reef complex to facilitate management actions and sustainability?

ABSTRACT

Conservation of flagship and umbrella species has popular support and benefits coexistent species. We investigated whether the Caribbean sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon porosus gathers necessary attributes of a ‘flagship umbrella’ species in the region of the Artificial Reef Complex of Guaxindiba (ARCG), southeastern Brazil. To do so, we compared fish community in areas and periods with and without this species, including areas with artificial reefs (ARs) and control areas (CAs); we combined these data with interviews with fishers. Ichthyofauna richness and abundance were higher in co-occurrence with the Caribbean sharpnose shark mainly in ARs. Thus, from an ecological standpoint, this shark can be considered an umbrella species. Moreover, this species raised awareness among fishers for conservation, mainly because of its commercial value and risk of losing their income, characterizing it as a flagship species. Therefore, it is recommended that sharks become symbols in conservation actions aiming the sustainability of the ARCG.

KEYWORDS:

• Conservation shortcuts
• surrogates
• biodiversity indicator
• composition indicator
• ecological indicator
• fishery

Acknowledgements

We are particularly grateful to fishers who participated in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on request

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico: [Grant Number 301203/2019-9]; Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: [Grant Number 259920/2021]; Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: [Grant Number E-26.200.620/2022].