The smalltooth sawfish, pristis pectinata, is a large RAY in the family pristidae

This species is listed as critically endangered on the iucn red list of threatened species and endangered under the united states endangered species act. Conservation measures have been implemented in several countries to aid in recovery of this and other pristid species (dulvy ET AL. 2016). In the U.S., this species was the first fully marine fish listed under the endangered species act (ESA) in 2003. Under the directive of the ESA, a smalltooth sawfish recovery team was formed to develop a recovery plan. Part of this plan (action 3.1) states the need to understand the population genetics of smalltooth sawfish as a means to ensure their abundance increases and they reoccupy areas from which they have been extirpated (nmfs 2009). Our group has used DNA to answer several questions related to the mating system and life history of this species, including philopatry (feldheim ET AL. 2017; smith ET AL. 2021), parthenogenesis (fields ET AL. 2015), gene flow (chapman ET AL. 2011), and estimating the number of breeding adults (smith ET AL. 2021). This dataset is one of the largest for any elasmobranch, and moving forward, IT will be vital to continue to monitor this population both through tagging and genetic studies. Indeed, only with long-term data can we start to answer certain life history questions. In lemon sharks, analysis of the genetic pedigree at bimini, bahamas has enabled US to estimate the minimum longevity (brooks ET AL. 2016) and describe natal philopatry (feldheim ET AL. 2014) in this species. Long-term analysis of the smalltooth sawfish populations in florida will enable to address the following questions: does the long-term sawfish pedigree indicate natal philopatry in this species? What is the source of females expanding to historic nursery sites? How many young survive to reproductive maturity? How long do females remain reproductively viable? What is the minimum longevity of this species?