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Manta ray populations worldwide are vulnerable to sublethal injuries resulting from human activities, e.g., entanglement in fishing line and boat strikes, which have the potential to impact an individual's health, fitness, and behaviour. Sublethal injuries and physical abnormalities also occur naturally from predation events, deformity, parasites, and disease. To determine the type and frequency of anthropogenic and natural originated injury events affecting Mobula alfredi and M. birostris in the Maldives, we examined data from the Manta Trust's Maldivian Manta Ray Project (MMRP) database, which contains 73,638 photo-identification (photo-ID) sightings of the two manta ray species from 1987 to 2019. The likely origin of each injury or physical abnormality was determined based on visual assessment of the photo-ID images. Multiple injuries to an individual originating from the same event were grouped for analysis. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to investigate the relationship between the occurrence of injury events and the explanatory variables sex and maturity status for both species, with the additional variable site function (cleaning, feeding, cruising) investigated for M. alfredi. Spatial and temporal variations in M. alfredi injury events, and their origin and type, were investigated by calculating the percentage of injury events per sighted individual at each Maldivian atoll, and per re-sighted individual in each year from 2005 to 2019. For both species, injury events were predominantly of natural origin, with predatory bites being the most frequent type. The most common anthropogenic injury type was entanglement in fishing line. Injuries to M. alfredi were significantly more likely to be observed on juveniles than adults, males than females, and at cleaning stations as opposed to feeding or cruising sites. Neither sex nor maturity status were significant explanatory variables for the occurrence of injuries to M. birostris. Highest percentages

A University of Queensland scientist is calling for volunteer divers to photograph the underside of manta rays in waters off the Western Australian coastline and upload them to Facebook as part of a research project.

A University of Queensland scientist is calling for volunteer divers to photograph the underside of manta rays in waters off the Western Australian coastline and upload them to Facebook as part of a research project.

Manta rays lacking libido in empty blue seas around the Maldives.

Watch the Captivating Courtship Dance of Manta Rays.

Off the Seychelles, a dive into a never-seen landscape.

Protecting the Mantas of Mozambique.

Giant manta ray 'begs snorkeler to help save her life in incredible encounter'.

Watching one manta's propeller wound heal has revealed a scarring pattern previously mistaken for a shark bite.

Green light for shark exports.

Mozambique sharks, manta rays population decline spurs conservation efforts.

A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Manta Trust has successfully scanned a pregnant wild reef manta ray underwater to obtain clear ultrasound images of her foetus, using the world's first contactless underwater ultrasound scanner.

A new research programme is underway to count species of sharks and rays across the Indo-Pacific region.

A rare assemblage of sharks and rays from nearshore environments of Eocene Madagascar.

Australia's ancient language shaped by sharks.

Islands Draw Record Backing to Protect Sharks From Fin Trade.

First study of world's largest marine stingray reveals long-distance migration.