A second appendix would include a list of dangerous shark species 

 likely to be found in a specific area, e.g., the open ocean tropical 

 Pacific, the coast of Asia, etc. 



c. Proposed "Systematic Catalogue of Sharks and Rays of the World" 



This manual is intended as a more specialized companion to the 

 "Guide" and would be of greatest use to researchers in interpreting the 

 work and observations of others. In the past, a number of scientific 

 names have been used for a single species, usually resulting in confusion. 

 This catalog would indicate the correct name and list other names that 

 have been incorrectly used in the past. It would also include a signifi- 

 cant bibliographic references and technical information such as type 

 localities and an index of names. 



d. Production and Coordination 



Much of the necessary information has already been accumulated and 

 merely needs to be collated and edited. In several cases, however, studies 

 must be undertaken to fill gaps in our knowledge. Primary examples are 

 the taxonomy of the lemon shark genus Negaprion and the stingray family 

 Dasyatidae. 



It is anticipated that the existing editorial staff of an organization 

 such as the American Institute of Biological Sciences could effectively 

 conduct the necessary editing and coordination under contract arrangement. 

 Under AIBS aegis it might also be possible to partially underwrite pro- 

 duction costs by subscription sales of the manuals. 



2. Ecology of Sharks 



a. Present Status and General Recommendations 



Ecological studies of sharks are of interest in a purely scientific 

 sense because sharks are among the top carnivores in most marine eco- 

 systems. More pertinent to the present purposes, basic ecological data 

 (particularly on population dynamics) are needed to predict abundance and 

 size composition of shark populations at a given place or season, to 

 evaluate the effectiveness of shark control programs, and to reliably 

 extrapolate results of laboratory studies to the field situation. 



Intensive ecological studies have been made on very few species of 

 sharks, notably the spiny dogfish (Ford, 1921; Hickling, 1930; Templeraan, 

 1944; Holland, 1957), soupfin shark (Ripley, 1946), school shark (Olsen, 

 1954), scalloped hammerhead (Clarke, 1971), and sand bar shark (Springer, 

 1960). In most of these cases, knowledge of the species' ecology is still 

 incomplete, and no intensive studies have been conducted on really signifi- 

 cantly dangerous species. It is clear that more ecological data, (e.g., 

 seasonal and spatial changes in abundance, age and growth, reproductive 

 potential, food habits) are needed, particularly for dangerous species. 



The paucity of reliable ecological data on sharks is, in a large part, 

 due to the difficulty and expense involved in collecting and handling 

 sufficient numbers of specimens. It is no accident that most studies 



