School of Biomedical Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
PLoS One. 2011 Feb 10;6(2):e16716. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016716.
The low fecundity, late maturity, long gestation and long life span of Nautilus suggest that this species is vulnerable to over-exploitation. Demand from the ornamental shell trade has contributed to their rapid decline in localized populations. More data from wild populations are needed to design management plans which ensure Nautilus persistence. We used a variety of techniques including capture-mark-recapture, baited remote underwater video systems, ultrasonic telemetry and remotely operated vehicles to estimate population size, growth rates, distribution and demographic characteristics of an unexploited Nautilus pompilius population at Osprey Reef (Coral Sea, Australia). We estimated a small and dispersed population of between 844 and 4467 individuals (14.6-77.4 km(-2)) dominated by males (83:17 male:female) and comprised of few juveniles (<10%).These results provide the first Nautilid population and density estimates which are essential elements for long-term management of populations via sustainable catch models. Results from baited remote underwater video systems provide confidence for their more widespread use to assess efficiently the size and density of exploited and unexploited Nautilus populations worldwide.
鹦鹉螺繁殖能力低、成熟晚、妊娠期和寿命长，这表明该物种容易受到过度捕捞的影响。来自观赏贝壳贸易的需求导致其在局部种群中迅速减少。需要更多来自野生种群的数据来制定管理计划，以确保鹦鹉螺的持续存在。我们使用了各种技术，包括捕获-标记-再捕获、诱饵远程水下视频系统、超声遥测和遥控潜水器，来估计澳大利亚珊瑚海 Osprey Reef 未开发的鹦鹉螺种群的种群规模、增长率、分布和人口特征。我们估计，一个小型且分散的种群数量在 844 到 4467 个个体之间（14.6-77.4 平方公里），以雄性为主（83:17 雄性：雌性），并且只有少数幼体（<10%）。这些结果提供了第一个鹦鹉螺种群和密度估计，这是通过可持续捕捞模型对种群进行长期管理的基本要素。诱饵远程水下视频系统的结果为更广泛地使用这些系统提供了信心，以有效地评估全球范围内开发和未开发的鹦鹉螺种群的规模和密度。
