Science AI Journal
Environmental Science · Research topic

Open research questions in Ichthyology and Marine Biology

344 gap statements mined from Ichthyology and Marine Biology papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,091 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Ichthyology and Marine Biology? See the ranked Earth Science journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • While sex- and size-based segregation are common among shark species—often driven by differences in nutritional requirements or by the avoidance of intra-specific competition and predation—the underlying mechanisms of sexual segregation in whale sharks remain unclear, and dietary differences between immature and mature individuals have been suggested.

    Preliminary Observations of Environmental Effects on Immature Whale Shark Surface Feeding Behaviour in Nosy Be, Madagascar · 2026 · DOI

  • IRV provides a regional trait-based screening framework that can help identify species warranting further research and monitoring, but it should not be interpreted as a stand-alone basis for management prioritization or as a substitute for fishery-specific risk assessments, stock assessments, or formal conservation-status evaluations.

    Evaluating Vulnerability and Resilience of Mediterranean Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras Through Biological and Fishery Traits · 2026 · DOI

  • Nevertheless, the uneven availability of underlying biological information remains an important limitation, particularly for poorly studied species, and should be considered when interpreting species-level IRV estimates.

    Evaluating Vulnerability and Resilience of Mediterranean Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras Through Biological and Fishery Traits · 2026 · DOI

  • It also highlights the need for systematic reporting, rapid-release procedures, and evaluation of cage designs and operational practices aimed at reducing shark entry, entanglement, and mortality.

    Interactions of large pelagic sharks (Elasmobranchii) with capture-based tuna aquaculture and salmon farming in the Mediterranean Sea · 2026 · DOI

  • In conclusion, we note that the evolutionary history and ecological interactions of terror birds are not completely understood, and every new discovery sheds light on the evolution and natural history of terror birds in the Americas. Certainly, the presence of two gigantic terror birds coexisting in the La Venta locality represents an interesting scenario for further studies on their ecology and niche partitioning.

    Too Much Terror: A Gigantic Terror Bird (Cariamiformes: Phorusrhacidae) from the Middle Miocene of La Venta, Colombia · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a lack of ecological information on cartilaginous fish, with 16% of 1240 species assessed being listed as 'Data Deficient' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Traditional capture-based surveys pose risks to the health and survival of these species, highlighting the need for non-invasive alternatives.

    Studying Chondrichthyans Using Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems: A Review · 2024 · DOI

  • Phenotypic Plasticity in Arabidopsis thaliana Is fitness-neutral, and costs are lacking across experimental environments.

    Habitat as a Template for Life Histories of Fish · 2026 · DOI

  • These observations add to the limited evidence of this poorly understood behaviour in sharks and rays, highlighting gaps in our knowledge of their basic biology.

    First wild observations of intestinal eversion by whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi · 2026 · DOI

  • For white sharks ( Carcharodon carcharias), traditional growth studies, have produced inconsistent results, aggravating the already complex management of this species.

    Catch me (again) if you can: length–age relationship for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) from capture–mark–recapture data · 2026 · DOI

  • The bluntnose sixgill shark ( Hexanchus griseus) is classified as ‘Near Threatened’ at a global level but currently holds a ‘Least Concern’ status in the Mediterranean Sea, despite increasing fishing pressure and insufficient data.

    Assessing the Vulnerability and the Stock Status of the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark, Hexanchus griseus , in North‐Eastern Tunisia (Central Mediterranean) Using Data‐Limited Models · 2026 · DOI

  • Our findings stress the importance of using stranding records as a complementary data source for assessing threats, particularly in areas where fisheries data are limited or unavailable.

    Batoid Strandings on the Brazilian Coast: Threats and Challenges for Species Conservation · 2026 · DOI

  • Although reopening without evidence of recovery poses clear conservation risks, the precautionary principle is insufficiently operationalised in a proposal to use Environmental DNA (eDNA) to inform management, lacking defined reference points, recovery thresholds, or harvest control rules.

    Monitoring Deep‐Sea Shark Fisheries Under a Precautionary Framework and the Role of eDNA · 2026 · DOI

  • Overexploitation, limited data availability, lack of international cooperation and uneven public awareness hinder effective management.

    Citizen Science for Sharks and Rays: Evaluating iNaturalist Records to Document Elasmobranch Diversity and Occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea · 2026 · DOI

  • Sharks and rays are among the most threatened vertebrates; yet, mechanistic data to predict their responses to climate change remain sparse.

    The ideal candidate for the job: how epaulette sharks ( Hemiscyllium ocellatum ) have emerged as a model for climate-ready shark conservation · 2026 · DOI

  • The location of shark egg nursery areas in the Mediterranean Sea is not well known.

    Artificial Structures as Shark Egg‐Laying Substrate in a Previously Fished Mediterranean Demersal No‐Take MPA · 2025 · DOI

  • Skates (Rajidae) include species of conservation and commercial importance, but there is limited information regarding their ecologically important habitats, including spawning and nursery areas, in northern European seas.

    The distribution of the juvenile stages and eggcases of skates (Rajidae) around the British Isles · 2024 · DOI

  • Although the categorical variables considered within this study did not account for significant differences in microbial composition between samples, there did appear to be clustering within the NMDS plots.

    Characterising the mycobiome of healthy and wounded reef sharks in the Seychelles archipelago · 2026 · DOI

  • Tissue collection was limited to a minimally invasive fin-clip per individual; and all captured specimens during the active surveys were released alive by the team.

    Molecular Taxonomy of Elasmobranchs in the Southern Arabian Gulf: From Species Confirmation to Cryptic Diversity · 2026 · DOI

  • To avoid over-interpolation, kriging was limited to an area within 800 m of the survey transect.

    Shallow seamounts are “oases” and activity hubs for pelagic predators in a large-scale marine reserve · 2025 · DOI

  • Freshwater elasmobranchs, both euryhaline and obligate species, are poorly understood and highly threatened with extinction globally.

    Long‐Distance Movement by a Giant Freshwater Stingray, Potamotrygon brachyura , Challenges Our View on Movement Ecology and Management of Obligate Freshwater Elasmobranchs · 2026 · DOI

  • The opportunistic nature of the observations precludes estimation of interaction frequency, - The study is based on a limited number of observations, - There is a lack of systematic reporting and data on shark-aquaculture…

    Interactions of large pelagic sharks (Elasmobranchii) with capture-based tuna aquaculture and salmon farming in the Mediterranean Sea · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional capture-based surveys pose risks to the health and survival of chondrichthyan species, - The use of BRUVS is limited to marine waters, - The study was limited to peer-reviewed papers…

    Studying Chondrichthyans Using Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems: A Review · 2024 · DOI

  • Unravelling the trophic ecology of poorly studied and threatened elasmobranchs inhabiting 11.

    Demographic Characteristics of Elasmobranch Fishes in the Khor Faridah Region (Abu Dhabi) Using a Stereo-BRUVS Approach · 2026 · DOI

  • This study employed complementary Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and longline surveys to assess the diversity, distribution and seasonal use of shark species in a possible multispecies nursery in the Bay of Sal Rei (Cabo Verde), a critical but understudied habitat within the Eastern Central Atlantic (ECA).

    Diversity, Abundance and Distribution of Sharks in a Multispecies Nursery Area in the Eastern Central Atlantic · 2026 · DOI

  • We apply a structured causal modelling framework to 651 species of rays (superorder Batoidea), a highly threatened yet understudied lineage of cartilaginous fishes, to disentangle the drivers of research effort.

    Too threatened to try: how extinction risk drives research neglect in rays and skates · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Ichthyology and Marine Biology

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Ichthyology and Marine Biology sub-topic

This page shows what the Ichthyology and Marine Biology literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Environmental Science

Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
2,956 open questions
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
2,861 open questions
Climate variability and models
1,980 open questions
Remote Sensing in Agriculture
1,979 open questions
Air Quality and Health Impacts
1,570 open questions
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
1,443 open questions
Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
1,324 open questions
Urban Heat Island Mitigation
1,291 open questions
Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Phenotypic Plasticity in Arabidopsis thaliana Is fitness-neutral, and costs are lacking across experimental environments (“Habitat as a Template for Life Histories of Fish”, 2026); (2) Overexploitation, limited data availability, lack of international cooperation and uneven public awareness hinder effective management (“Citizen Science for Sharks and Rays: Evaluating iNaturalist Records to Document…”, 2026); (3) The location of shark egg nursery areas in the Mediterranean Sea is not well known (“Artificial Structures as Shark Egg‐Laying Substrate in a Previously Fished…”, 2025); (4) There is a lack of ecological information on cartilaginous fish, with 16% of 1240 species assessed being listed as 'Data Deficient' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (“Studying Chondrichthyans Using Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems: A Review”, 2024); (5) Skates (Rajidae) include species of conservation and commercial importance, but there is limited information regarding their ecologically important habitats, including spawning and nursery areas, in northern European seas (“The distribution of the juvenile stages and eggcases of skates (Rajidae) around…”, 2024). 344 gap statements have been mined from Ichthyology and Marine Biology papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,091 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 1,100,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.