Conservation Value of Shallow‐Water Habitats for Rays Within a Long‐Standing Marine Protected Area

ABSTRACT Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a widely used tool in the conservation and protection of threatened marine species. When MPAs include the key habitat of species into their design, they can provide refuge and opportunity for recovery from exploitative pressures. This is crucial for elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) that are facing global declines from overexploitation and habitat loss. Using visual observational transects (VOT) and baited remote underwater videos (BRUV), we identified key habitats for subtropical shallow‐water rays within a long‐standing MPA in eastern Australia (Moreton Bay Marine Park), based on species richness, relative abundance and community composition. We made 1195 observations of rays from 13 species across intertidal mangrove, diverse sand, seagrass and inshore reef habitats. High species richness and relative abundance were recorded at central eastern bay locations where intertidal mangrove and diverse sand habitats occurred extensively and appeared ecologically interconnected. There was minimal overlap of ‘no‐take’ areas with important ray habitats within Moreton Bay Marine Park, signifying a limitation of no‐take zones to contribute to ray conservation. Aligning the Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) Criteria determined that a high diversity of rays, including threatened species, use these sites for vital life history functions including reproduction, feeding and/or resting. This study underscores the need for incorporation of a range of habitat types into MPA design to maximise their value to rays.