Ecology of New Zealand Deep-sea Chondrichthyans

Deep-sea chondrichthyans represent nearly half of the known species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras. Most are poorly known, largely due to their historically low economic value, and thus, low prioritization for research efforts and targeted sampling. Globally, many deep-sea fisheries have proven to be unsustainable, as deep-sea species are generally characterised with life history traits, resulting in low biological productivity. Although generally not targeted, there is a lack of data on New Zealand deep-sea chondrichthyans, despite regularly occurring as bycatch, with no mitigation in place to limit catches. This thesis described aspects of life histories for data deficient deep-sea chondrichthyans caught as bycatch in New Zealand deep-sea fisheries. In Chapter II, research trawl survey data were used to describe and evaluate length-weight relationships, which were found to greatly differ from parameters reported by FishBase. This was followed by the application of a set of models to detect changes in weight at length relationships, and assess if these changes correspond to biological or ecological events, such as length-at-maturity or ontogenetic changes in diet. Chapter III evaluates deep-sea chondrichthyan aggregations and social associations. Not all species were found to engage in aggregative behaviour, but those that did suggested patterns of sex- and size-specific associations which varied with catch density. Adult females were caught most frequently in low densities and were highly associated with other adult females, adult males consistently highly associated with each other, and the highest density catches were dominated by juvenile individuals. These trends may be driven by factors such as foraging, predator avoidance or sexual conflict avoidance. Chapters IV, V, and VI examine, respectively, details of the reproduction, life history, and diet of prickly dogfish (Oxynotus bruniensis), longnose spookfish (Harriotta raleighana) and Pacific spookfish (Rhinochimaera pacifica), and brown chimaera (Chimaera carophila) and black ghost shark (Hydrolagus homonycteris). All species were found to have life histories characteristic of low productivity, including reaching maturation at a large proportion of their maximum length, and having low fecundity. Additional novel biological results included: DNA identification of prey revealed that O. bruniensis preyed exclusively on the egg capsules of holocephalans, potentially making it the only known elasmobranch with a diet reliant solely upon other chondrichthyans; sperm storage was confirmed in female H. raleighana, R. pacifica, and C. carophila; and sexual dimorphism in snout length was found in H. raleighana, where male relative snout size increased at sexual maturity, suggesting that the snout is a secondary sexual characteristic. The depth range of most New Zealand deep-sea chondrichthyans may provide some refuge from current fishing activity. However, results from this thesis have suggested that the species examined here have life histories characteristic of low productivity, and engage in behaviours that will have implications for selective mortality by spatially or temporally stratified fishing. Oxynotus bruniensis, in particular, is likely at higher risk from the impact of fishing than currently estimated, given its reproductive characteristics, highly specialised diet, and distribution overlap with deep-sea fisheries. Continued monitoring and a greater collection of biological data from additional and alternative sources (e.g. fisheries observer program, local fishers, underwater vehicles and video) is recommended to fully understand and negate mortality from human activities