Listen to this podcast for the latest publicity on Dr. Dean Grubbs' and Dr. Chip Cotton's paper disputing claims that the population of cownsoe rays in the Chesapeake bay had exploded. "It's biologically impossible for cownose ray populations to explode," says Dr. Grubbs. Cownose rays only have one pup every year, making it difficult for their population to "explode" as the 2007 study had claimed. Because of the slow rate of reproduction, the efforts to fish for these rays could be especially harmful.
Ray Fillets Won’t Save The Bay: Scientists Exonerate Cownose Rays After Nine Years
Additonal coverage of Dr. Dean Grubbs' and Dr. Chip Cotton's latest publication challenging connections between shark declines and collapse of oyster populations. This article includes his thoughts on the original 2007 study and what red flags that caught his attention.