NeEstimator v2 is a completely revised and updated implementation of software that produces estimates of contemporary effective population size, using several different methods and a single input file. NeEstimator v2 includes three single-sample estimators (updated versions of the linkage disequilibrium and heterozygote-excess methods, and a new method based on molecular coancestry), as well as the two-sample (moment-based temporal) method. New features include the following: (i) an improved method for accounting for missing data; (ii) options for screening out rare alleles; (iii) confidence intervals for all methods; (iv) the ability to analyse data sets with large numbers of genetic markers (10 000 or more); (v) options for batch processing large numbers of different data sets, which will facilitate cross-method comparisons using simulated data; and (vi) correction for temporal estimates when individuals sampled are not removed from the population (Plan I sampling). The user is given considerable control over input data and composition, and format of output files. The freely available software has a new JAVA interface and runs under MacOS, Linux and Windows.

Since the first investigation 25 years ago, the application of genetic tools to address ecological and evolutionary questions in elasmobranch studies has greatly expanded. Major developments in genetic theory as well as in the availability, cost effectiveness and resolution of genetic markers were instrumental for particularly rapid progress over the last 10 years. Genetic studies of elasmobranchs are of direct importance and have application to fisheries management and conservation issues such as the definition of management units and identification of species from fins. In the future, increased application of the most recent and emerging technologies will enable accelerated genetic data production and the development of new markers at reduced costs, paving the way for a paradigm shift from gene to genome-scale research, and more focus on adaptive rather than just neutral variation. Current literature is reviewed in six fields of elasmobranch molecular genetics relevant to fisheries and conservation management (species identification, phylogeography, philopatry, genetic effective population size, molecular evolutionary rate and emerging methods). Where possible, examples from the Indo-Pacific region, which has been underrepresented in previous reviews, are emphasized within a global perspective.

Reproductive philopatry in bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas was investigated by comparing mitochondrial (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4, 797 base pairs and control region genes 837 base pairs) and nuclear (three microsatellite loci) DNA of juveniles sampled from 13 river systems across northern Australia. High mitochondrial and low microsatellite genetic diversity among juveniles sampled from different rivers (mitochondrial φ(ST) = 0·0767, P < 0·05; microsatellite F(ST) = -0·0022, P > 0·05) supported female reproductive philopatry. Genetic structure was not further influenced by geographic distance (P > 0·05) or long-shore barriers to movement (P > 0·05). Additionally, results suggest that C. leucas in northern Australia has a long-term effective population size of 11 000-13 000 females and has undergone population bottlenecks and expansions that coincide with the timing of the last ice-ages.

We compare vertebral microchemistry with previously described age-related movement patterns of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas and pig-eye sharks C. amboinensis within coastal waters of north Australia. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) quantified the chemical signatures of nursery habitats within the vertebrae of juvenile and adult sharks. We examined evidence for adults returning to these habitats by applying LA-ICP-MS along a growth axis of their vertebrae. We transposed chemical signatures with growth increments in adult vertebrae to correlate with age estimates. Unique elemental signatures were identified in each of the freshwater nurseries, but we did not find them in adult vertebrae. Age-specific changes in vertebral microchemistry in mature female bull sharks correlate with periodic returns every 1 to 2 yr to less saline environments to pup. We were unable to discriminate among natal habitats of pig-eye sharks using elemental fingerprints, and age-specific changes in vertebral microchemistry were also absent. We conclude that changes in vertebral microchemistry correlate with known habitat use patterns of the bull and pig-eye sharks, showing the potential of vertebral microchemistry to discern movement patterns in sharks. KEY WORDS: Vertebral microchemistry · LA-ICP-MS · Movement · Long-term · Resource partitioning · CarcharhinidaeResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Mar Ecol Prog Ser 434: 133-142, 2011 Speed et al. 2010) that are critical to the maintenance of genetic diversity and replenishment of populations (Hueter et al. 2005).Studies tracking shark movements and identifying patterns of habitat use in coastal regions typically involve tagging with standard (numerical), satellite or sonar tags (Speed et al. 2010). Such an approach is often logistically difficult and expensive because it first involves the capture, tagging and release (in good condition) of the shark. Furthermore, the animals must either be recaptured (standard tags), or tags must report to satellites or arrays of listening stations (sonar tags) for data acquisition (Voegeli et al. 2001, Simpfendorfer & Heupel 2004. Rates of recapture are usually low, while failure of expensive satellite tags to report is commonplace (Hays et al. 2007). Arrays of listening stations require considerable effort to deploy, download and maintain, which can limit the duration and spatial extent of a study using this approach. Despite these problems, studies using these techniques have mapped fine-scale (25 km) movements of different-age cohorts of sharks in shallow coastal waters (Simpfendorfer et al. 2005, Yeiser et al. 2008, Heithaus et al. 2009, Ortega et al. 2009, but the logistics, cost and limited life span of tags have restricted the number of target individuals and species and, in the case of sonar tags, the spatial extent of the sampling area.To overcome the limitations associated with conventional tracking, natural chemical fingerprints are a developing ...

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