Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity are facing unprecedented threats from emerging stressors. With their care facilities, veterinary and breeding expertise, and public communication reach, public aquariums are uniquely placed to help understand and protect biodiversity. These institutions can provide important information on basic biology, life history traits, and genetics for at-risk aquatic species. Sharks, in particular, are among the most threatened groups of vertebrates in the world. Although they have survived all mass extinctions occurring at sea so far, more than 15% of all assessed sharks are currently threatened with extinction. Preserving shark populations is of the utmost importance, since, as top predators, sharks play an important role in maintaining other fish communities and their decline will impact fish populations, fisheries, and the ocean’s overall health. The expertise held at aquariums around the world has the potential to improve conservation chances for many shark species and contribute to enhanced knowledge of in situ and ex situ populations.

This Special Issue focuses on the work developed with or for shark populations kept under human care and its potential to contribute to conservation efforts in situ, increasing our pool of knowledge on these species, or hamper the husbandry and welfare of populations kept under human care.

It aims to assemble and highlight relevant work that can benefit populations of sharks both in situ and ex situ. Work underlining the potential of the expertise acquired with ex situ populations to inform in situ conservation planning and management is especially welcomed, as well as contributions that will increase the global knowledge currently available for these species, either on their basic biology, reproduction, behaviour, health, or other. Reports on the best practices developed in husbandry and/or tested by leading institutions and research on the progress in welfare science would also be valued. Zoological institutions are strategically positioned to advance our current knowledge of sharks; this issue offers the opportunity to examine their potential and progression with the urgency that the current extinction risk entails.

Dr. Rita Da Silva
Guest Editor

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• aquarium
• animal care
• sharks
• management
• conservation
• ex situ management
• husbandry
• aquatic biodiversity