Sharklab-Malta has just announced the publishing of a paper which highlights the achievements of a 14-year long citizen science study which has confirmed several areas of the Maltese Islands as a key nursery ground for the Bull Ray.
The paper, published in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal here (also visible below), analyses sightings of Bull Rays in shallow coastal waters around the island of Malta reported by researchers and casual free/divers who recorded these sightings using underwater cameras.
Bull rays can be identified through the patterns of lines on their top side which serve as a “fingerprint” for identifying specific individuals. Analysis of images has led to almost half the sighted Bull rays (45%) having been confirmed to have been sighted at least twice, and in the case of a handful of specimens, multiple times over several years.
A specific Bull Ray which was named by researchers as “Beatroot” was sighted at least three times over a span of six years, indicating a long-term or repeated visits to the island. Sighting data also recorded individuals being sighted at different bays in the west and east of the island, which indicates that they also move around the island. For a specific specimen, data indicated a travelling distance of at least 12 km over 13 days.
The study has provided data which confirms that most of the sightings were for juveniles in the early stages of their life, with very few adults identified.
Read the paper below