engleski

Extinction vulnerability of chondrichthyans

Chondrichthyan species make up a relatively small group that has functioned successfully in diverse ecosystems for over 400 million years surviving various ecological catastrophes, including "Big five" mass extinctions. This group may now be threatened with extinction as a result of human activities and the conservative life history characteristics of the species. It is suggested that a sixth mass extinction for chondrichthyans is already ongoing, due to a specific level of human activities, particulary fisheries. In the Mediterranean Chondrichthyans are generally declining in abundance, diversity and range and are possibly facing a worse scenario than chondrichthyan populations elsewhere in the world. As chondrichthyans are having small populations with patchy and restricted, geographically distinct distribution, such species have an increased risk of global extinction following local extinction. Thus, it is essential to develop new prognostic tools that will be able to predict extinction risk of chondrichthyan species based on already accessible data.

Chondrichthyan species

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