Rays (superorder Batoidea) are the most diverse group of elasmobranchs, and many are threatened with extinction. However, there remain areas where research on the ecology of this group is lacking, from trophic interactions to their importance to ecosystem structure and function. Such ecological insights are critical for predicting the potential consequences of changes in their population sizes. Our aim was to synthesize the existing ray ecology literature and identify key knowledge gaps in order to provide a framework for future research. Numerous studies describe ray diets, and the number of studies using biochemical methods to address ray trophic interactions is increasing. The implications of ray predator–prey interactions on population dynamics of prey and how ray foraging might influence ecosystem dynamics through bioturbation remain relatively unexplored, despite claims that rays are ecologically important because they are bioturbators and because of their potential to deplete stocks of commercially important bivalves. Therefore, to better integrate rays in our understanding of marine community dynamics, there is a need to: (i) combine behavioural data with dietary information to describe predator–prey interactions; (ii) understand how ray bioturbation affects biogeochemical cycles and infaunal communities; (iii) elucidate conditions under which rays might initiate or transmit trophic cascades through consumptive and non‐consumptive pathways; and (iv) consider anthropogenic influences on the ecological roles and importance of rays.

中文翻译：

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埋在沙子里：发现射线的生态作用和重要性

射线（超阶Batoidea）是种类最多的弹性分支，许多物种正面临灭绝的威胁。然而，从营养相互作用到它们对生态系统结构和功能的重要性，仍然缺乏对该群体生态学的研究。这种生态洞察力对于预测人口数量变化的潜在后果至关重要。我们的目的是综合现有的射线生态学文献并找出关键的知识差距，以便为将来的研究提供框架。许多研究描述了射线饮食，并且使用生化方法解决射线营养相互作用的研究数目正在增加。尽管声称射线在生态上很重要，因为它们是生物扰动者，并且因为它们有可能消耗商业上重要的双壳类种群，但射线捕食者与猎物之间的相互作用对猎物种群动态以及射线觅食如何通过生物扰动如何影响生态系统动力学的影响仍未得到充分研究。 。因此，为了更好地将射线整合到我们对海洋群落动态的理解中，有必要：（i）将行为数据与饮食信息相结合，以描述捕食者与猎物之间的相互作用；（ii）了解射线生物扰动如何影响生物地球化学循环和非生物群落；（iii）阐明射线可能通过消耗性和非消耗性途径引发或传递营养级联的条件；