Biology of Skates (eBook)

Preface: Biology of skates.- Biodiversity and systematics of skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes: Rajoidei).- Southern African skate biodiversity and distribution.- Food habits of the sandpaper skate, Bathyraja kincaidii (Garman, 1908) off central California: seasonal variation in diet linked to oceanographic conditions.- Food habits of the longnose skate, Raja rhina (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880), in central California waters.- Dietary comparisons of six skate species (Rajidae) in south-eastern Australian waters.- Comparative feeding ecology of four sympatric skate species off central California, USA.- Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes: Rajoidei).- Normal embryonic development in the clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria, with experimental observations on artificial insemination.- Endocrinological investigation into the reproductive cycles of two sympatric skate species, Malacoraja senta and Amblyraja radiata, in the western Gulf of Maine.- Morphological variation in the electric organ of the little skate (Leucoraja erinacea) and its possible role in communication during courtship.- Reproductive biology of Rioraja agassizi from the coastal southwestern Atlantic ecosystem between northern Uruguay (34°S) and northern Argentina (42°S).- Profiling plasma steroid hormones: a non-lethal approach for the study of skate reproductive biology and its potential use in conservation management.- Age and growth estimates for the smooth skate, Malacoraja senta, in the Gulf of Maine.- Age, growth, maturity, and mortality of the Alaska skate, Bathyraja parmifera, in the eastern Bering Sea.- Age and growth of the roughtail skate Bathyraja trachura (Gilbert 1892) from the eastern North Pacific.- Age and growth of big skate (Raja binoculata) and longnose skate (R. rhina) in the Gulf of Alaska.