1. Stingrays and guitarfish are globally threatened by overexploitation, particularly so in the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, very little information is known about their ecology, behaviour, and taxonomy in the Mediterranean, and especially in the Levant, where water temperature, salinity, and the impact of invasive species are relatively high.
2. Although it has been suggested that some species may aggregate in the Levant, this has not been formally documented and the scale of this phenomenon, the taxonomic composition, and the temporal dynamics are unknown.
3. Visual surveys were conducted, which allowed the documentation of stingrays and guitarfish behaviour, and which was not available from data based on fishery catches. The census took place within a marine protected area over a period of 3 years.
4. Altogether, we documented 675 batoid observations. One of the observed species is Endangered (Glaucostegus cemiculus ) and one is Vulnerable (Dasyatis pastinaca ), whereas the others are classed as Least Concern (Torpedo torpedo and Torpedo marmorata ), Data Deficient (Taeniurops grabatus ), non‐assessed within the Mediterranean (Dasyatis chrysonota ), and Not Evaluated (Himantura uarnak ). Results show clear seasonal patterns, with dense aggregations recorded during spring and early summer, when densities reached 85 observations per kilometre. In addition, there were clear indications of breeding behaviour in D. pastinaca and D. chrysonota , including the first recorded documentation of D. pastinaca courtship in the Mediterranean.
5. Large seasonal stingrays and guitarfish aggregations in shallow waters have not, to our knowledge, been documented in the Mediterranean Sea previously. This highlights the importance of conserving shallow habitats as potential breeding grounds. As these sites are easily reached while both snorkelling and diving, the aggregation of these charismatic species can serve as potential ecotourism sites. Finally, this study shows the benefits of using simple visual census, as opposed to catch‐based methods, to record both the diversity and the behaviour of batoids.

中文翻译：

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黎凡特受威胁的黄貂鱼和吉他鱼的沿海繁殖群

1. 黄貂鱼和guitar鱼在全球受到过度开发的威胁，在地中海地区尤其如此。然而，在地中海，特别是黎凡特地区，那里的水温，盐度和入侵物种的影响相对较高，因此，关于它们的生态，行为和分类的信息很少。
2. 尽管已经提出一些物种可能在黎凡特地区聚集，但尚未正式记录下来，这种现象的规模，分类学组成和时间动态尚不清楚。
3. 进行了视觉调查，从而可以记录黄貂鱼和and鱼的行为，而基于渔业产量的数据则无法获得。普查在海洋保护区内进行了3年。
4. 我们总共记录了675个batoid观测值。观察到的物种之一是濒临灭绝的物种（Glaucostegus cemiculus），而一个则是脆弱的物种（Dasyatis pastinaca），而其他物种则被列为“最不相关”（Torpedo torpedo和Torpedo marmorata），数据不足（Taeniurops catchatus），未在地中海地区评估的物种。Dasyatis chrysonota），未评估（Himantura uarnak）。结果显示出清晰的季节模式，在春季和初夏记录了密集的聚集，当时密度达到每公里85个观测值。此外，还有明确的迹象表明巴斯德氏。的繁殖行为和D. chrysonota，包括地中海地区最早的D. pastinaca求爱记录文件。
5. 据我们所知，地中海地区以前没有记录到大型季节性黄貂鱼和浅水鱼的聚集。这突出了保护浅层栖息地作为潜在繁殖地的重要性。由于在浮潜和潜水时都可以轻松到达这些地点，因此这些具有超凡魅力的物种的聚集可以作为潜在的生态旅游地点。最后，这项研究表明，与基于捕获的方法相比，使用简单的视觉普查来记录蝙蝠的多样性和行为是有好处的。