Cristiane T. Eifes, Suzanne R. Livingstone, Amanda Lane, Vimoksaiehi Lukosche, Kate L. Sanders, Anthony J. Courtney, JoeyL. Gatus, Michaei Guinea, Aaron S. Lobo, David Miiton, Arne R. Rasmussen, Mark Read, Mahree-Dee White, Jonneii Sanciangco, Angei Aicaia, Haroid Heatwoie, Daryi R. Karns, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, Haroid K. Voris, Kent E. Carpenter, John C. Murphy
An assessment of marine elapid snakes found 9% of marine elapids are threatened with extinction, and an additional 6% are Near Threatened. A large portion (34%) is Data Deficient. An analysis of distributions revealed the greatest species diversity is found in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Three of the seven threatened species occur at Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs in the Timor Sea, while the remaining threatened taxa occur in the Philippines, Niue, and Solomon Islands. The majority of Data Deficient species are found in Southeast Asia. Threats to marine snakes include loss of coral reefs and coastal habitat, incidental bycatch in fisheries, as well as fisheries that target snakes for leather. The presence of two Critically Endangered and one Endangered species in the Timor Sea suggests the area is of particular conservation concern. More rigorous, long-term monitoring of populations is needed to evaluate the success of "conservation measures" for marine snake species, provide scientifically based guidance for determining harvest quotas, and to assess the populations of many Data Deficient species. © 2013. Christiane Elfes. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, United States; Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Arlington, VA 22202, 2011 Crystal Drive, United States; Department of Ecology and Environmental Biology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G128QQ, United Kingdom; Old Dominion University, Norfolk VA 23529, United States; University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Ecosciences Precinct, Brisbane, QLD 4001, GPO Box 46, Australia; Biology Department, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines; School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore - 570 002, Karnataka, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, India; CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Ecosciences Precinct, Brisbane, QLD 4001, GPO Box 2583, Australia; The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation, Copenhagen DK-1263, Denmark; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia; Sanderson, NT 0813, P.O. Box 780, Australia; Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, Silliman University, Dumaguete 6200, Philippines; Department of Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 2695, United States; Biology Department, Hanover College, Hanover, IN 47243, United States; Protected Resources Division, NOAA - Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La J olla, CA 92037, United States; Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, United States
