TY - JOUR
T1 - Fascinating and Forgotten
T2 - The Conservation Status of Marine Elapid Snakes
AU - Elfes, Cristine
AU - Livingstone, Suzanne
AU - Lane, Amanda
AU - Lukosche, Vimoksalehi
AU - Sanders, Kate
AU - Courtney, Anthony
AU - Gatus, Joey
AU - Guinea, Michael
AU - Lobo, Aaron
AU - Milton, David
AU - Rasmussen, Arne
AU - Read, Mark
AU - White, Mahree-Dee
AU - Sanciangco, Jonnell
AU - Alcala, Angel
AU - Heatwole, Harold
AU - Karns, Daryl
AU - Seminoff, Jefrey
AU - Voris, Harold
AU - Carpenter, Kent
AU - Murphy, John
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - An assessment of marine elapid snakes found 9% of marine elapids are threatened with extinction, and an additional 6% are Near Threatened. A large portion (34%) is Data Deficient. An analysis of distributions revealed the greatest species diversity is found in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Three of the seven threatened species occur at Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs in the Timor Sea, while the remaining threatened taxa occur in the Philippines, Niue, and Solomon Islands. The majority of Data Deficient species are found in Southeast Asia. Threats to marine snakes include loss of coral reefs and coastal habitat, incidental bycatch in fisheries, as well as fisheries that target snakes for leather. The presence of two Critically Endangered and one Endangered species in the Timor Sea suggests the area is of particular conservation concern. More rigorous, long-term monitoring of populations is needed to evaluate the success of "conservation measures" for marine snake species, provide scientifically based guidance for determining harvest quotas, and to assess the populations of many Data Deficient species.
AB - An assessment of marine elapid snakes found 9% of marine elapids are threatened with extinction, and an additional 6% are Near Threatened. A large portion (34%) is Data Deficient. An analysis of distributions revealed the greatest species diversity is found in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Three of the seven threatened species occur at Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs in the Timor Sea, while the remaining threatened taxa occur in the Philippines, Niue, and Solomon Islands. The majority of Data Deficient species are found in Southeast Asia. Threats to marine snakes include loss of coral reefs and coastal habitat, incidental bycatch in fisheries, as well as fisheries that target snakes for leather. The presence of two Critically Endangered and one Endangered species in the Timor Sea suggests the area is of particular conservation concern. More rigorous, long-term monitoring of populations is needed to evaluate the success of "conservation measures" for marine snake species, provide scientifically based guidance for determining harvest quotas, and to assess the populations of many Data Deficient species.
M3 - Article
VL - 8
SP - 37
EP - 52
JO - Herpetological Conservation and Biology
JF - Herpetological Conservation and Biology
SN - 1931-7603
IS - 1
ER -