By Mindy Weisberger, Senior
Writer | June 20, 2016 02:01pm ET
Until recently, manta rays —
which sail through tropical and temperate ocean waters, looking much like
enormous kites — were thought to migrate great distances across ocean basins,
as do many of the largest marine animals.
But a new study finds that these big
fish have a much smaller range than scientists had thought.
Researchers investigated data
gathered from tracking devices on the manta rays, as well as chemical and DNA analysis
of the rays' muscle tissues. The scientists were
surprised to find that these giants of the deep are not long-distance seasonal
commuters at all. Rather, they spend their lives in much more localized areas,
the researchers found. The discovery radically changes scientists'
understanding of mantas' habits and carries dramatic implications for their
conservation.
Now you see them, now you don't
With a "wingspan" that
can extend more than 23 feet (7 meters), mantas are the largest rays and one of
the ocean's biggest fishes. But tracking even very large animals in the open
ocean can be extremely difficult, and mantas have always been especially so,
according to lead study author Josh Stewart, a graduate student at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.
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