March 28, 2024

Science Snapshot: Giant Manta Ray Sanctuary

Giant manta ray (Mobula birostris) in the waters of Komodo National Park.Nick LongfellowGiant manta rays (Mobula birostris) are some of the most renowned fish in the ocean. See “Manta Ray Populations Have Complex Social Structures”A research study released this week in PeerJ exposed that the waters of Komodo National Park off the coast of Indonesia– where it has actually been illegal to fish for manta rays since 2013– are home to a big aggregation of these manta rays. The pattern on the underside of a manta ray is as unique as a finger print, allowing the scientists to comb through thousands of such images and get more info about each rays movement and behavior.