The sighting records of individual rays migrating between Nusa Penida and Gili Islands or West Manggarai & Komodo regions.

<p>Arrows highlight direction of movements.</p>⇒<p>west to east movements;</p>⇐<p>east to west movements.</p><p>The sighting records of individual rays migrating between Nusa Penida and Gili Islands or West Manggarai & Komodo regions.</p

The locations of <i>M. alfredi</i> encounters in Indonesia submitted to Manta Matcher.

<p>Sites are numbered as follows: 1) Pulau Weh 2) Palau Sangalaki 3) Nusa Penida 4) Gili Islands 5) West Manggarai & Komodo National Park 6) Raja Ampat. (A) Connectivity area and commercial fisheries area (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0110071#pone-0110071-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a> for enlargement). (B) Region surveyed in Raja Ampat (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0110071#pone-0110071-g003" target="_blank">Figure 3</a> for enlargement).</p

Screen grabs of photographs uploaded to the ‘Manta Matcher’ online database documenting <i>M. alfredi</i> movements from Nusa Penida (NP), Bali to Gili Islands (GI), Lombok.

<p>A. Manta ID code INNLP0074A. B. Manta ID code INNLP0057A.</p

Running the Gauntlet: Regional Movement Patterns of <i>Manta alfredi</i> through a Complex of Parks and Fisheries

<div><p>Manta rays (Genus <i>Manta</i>) are economically important for fisheries and tourism in Indonesia. These species have been listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as Vulnerable to extinction; therefore, human exploitation of manta rays must be regulated. A better understanding of the habitat use and movement patterns of manta rays in Indonesia is needed in order to employ effective conservation measures. To gain better insight into the movements of <i>Manta alfredi</i> we used ‘Manta Matcher’, an online database with an integrated automated matching algorithm, to compare photographs from 2,604 encounters of <i>M. alfredi</i> collected by recreational divers and dive operators throughout Indonesia over a nine-year period. This photographic comparison revealed that manta rays migrated between regional sanctuaries such as Nusa Penida, the Gili Islands, and the Komodo National Park (up to 450 km straight-line distance). The areas between these sanctuaries are heavily fished and trafficked by ships, and when manta rays travel through these regions they risk being fished and injured by ship strikes. These long-range manta ray movements suggest connectivity between <i>M. alfredi</i> populations in neighboring islands and raise concerns about the future management of regional populations. It is recommended that a national conservation strategy be developed to protect the remaining populations in the country.</p></div

A map of the Raja Ampat region to indicate the location of different monitoring sites.

<p>Sites are numbered as follows: 1) Manta Sandy 2) Jetty Arborek 3) Blue Magic 4) Manta Ridge 5) Manta Heaven 6) Dayang.</p

The connectivity area encompassing Nusa Penida, West Manggarai & Komodo regions and the nearby commercial manta ray landing ports.

<p>Regions and fishing ports are numbered as follows: 1) Nusa Penida 2) Gili Islands 3) Tunjung Luar fishing port 4) Komodo National Park 5) Lamakera fishing port. (A) Manta ray monitoring sites in Nusa Penida and Lombok and nearby Tujung Luar fishing port: 1.1) Small Manta Bay 1.2) Big Manta Bay 1.3) Manta Point 2) Gili Islands 3) Tanjung Luar fishing port. (B) Manta ray monitoring sites in West Mangarrai and Komodo National Park: 4.1) Manta Alley 4.2) German Flag 4.3) Karang Makassar/Manta Point 4.4) Mawan 4.5) The Cauldron 4.6) Tatawa Besar 4.7) Sabolon Kecil.</p

The ‘Manta Matcher’ matching algorithm screen grabs for INNLP0229A showing the top three matched images.

<p>Ranked hit 1 (re-sighting in WM & K) is a true match for the query image of ray INNLP0229A (initial sighting in NP).</p

The survey effort in Nusa Penida, West Manggarai & Komodo, and Raja Ampat regions including sighting records and number of individuals identified.

<p>The survey effort in Nusa Penida, West Manggarai & Komodo, and Raja Ampat regions including sighting records and number of individuals identified.</p

Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling plot for surface zooplankton fatty acid profiles (Bray-Curtis Similarity Index).

<p>Fatty acid labels represent the main coefficients (>0.7) contributing to each axis. Cluster 1 and 2 designate the two distinct FA profile groups of surface zooplankton as revealed by cluster analysis at 80% similarity.</p

Average lipid class (LC) profiles of surface zooplankton from a <i>Mobula birostris</i> aggregation site in Ecuador (this study), and from <i>Mobula alfredi</i> aggregation sites in eastern Australia and Mozambique [13].

<p>Average lipid class (LC) profiles of surface zooplankton from a <i>Mobula birostris</i> aggregation site in Ecuador (this study), and from <i>Mobula alfredi</i> aggregation sites in eastern Australia and Mozambique [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186464#pone.0186464.ref013" target="_blank">13</a>].</p