Adult female whale sharks make long-distance movements past Darwin Island (Galapagos, Ecuador) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Hearn, Alex; Green, J.; Román, Marlon; Acuña-Marrero, David; Espinoza, Eduardo; Klimley, A. Peter

doi:10.1007/s00227-016-2991-y

Cited by 42 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…However, at that time, existing tracking data on whale sharks was almost exclusively composed of tracks of small individuals, and lengthy tracks were rare. Hearn et al (2016) showed that large females tracked from the Galapagos Islands were able to sustain average movement rates of 67 km/day. There was also considerable variation between individuals in the frequency of detections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

et al. 2018

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Whale sharks (Rinchodon typus) are found in shallow coastal and deep waters of tropical and warm temperate seas. Population genetic studies indicate high connectivity among populations, and an Indo-Pacific meta-population has been suggested with potential migrations among some ocean basins. Here, we present the satellite track of a trans-Pacific migration of a female whale shark, which we tagged at Coiba Island (Panama), and which travelled over 20,000 km from the Tropical Eastern Pacific (Panama) to the western Indo-Pacific (Mariana Trench) in 841 d, primarily via the North Equatorial Current. This finding illustrates the migratory pathway between two ocean basins and potential passageway to reach the Philippine Sea into the South China Sea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

et al. 2018

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“…Similar to baleen whales (Werth, 2000;Potvin et al, 2012), whale sharks can attain giant body sizes because this mode of feeding allows them to target and efficiently gather abundant planktonic prey that are many orders of magnitude smaller than their own body size, while maintaining body temperatures (gigantothermy; Meekan et al, 2015). This food is, however, patchy both in space and time, and as a result whale sharks are highly mobile, occupying both coastal and open-ocean habitats (Wilson et al, 2006;Hueter et al, 2013;Hearn et al, 2016). Similar to many other sharks (Wetherbee and Cortés, 2004;Wearmouth and Sims, 2008), populations are segregated by size and sex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable Isotope Analysis of Dermis and the Foraging Behavior of Whale Sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

et al. 2019

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Stable isotope analysis of dermis was used to examine foraging behavior of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Values of δ 13 C and δ 15 N in dermis were compared to those obtained from likely species of local prey. The δ 13 C values of zooplankton and nektonic taxa at Ningaloo ranged from −18.9 to −16.5 reflecting the different carbon sources (from pelagic to more inshore and benthic) entering the food web. Isotopic values also varied depending on the diet-to-tissue discrimination factor applied in the analysis. When data was corrected using factors derived from slow turnover, structural cartilage in fins, whale sharks showed a greater reliance on pelagic food webs, whereas analyses using raw data suggested a greater dietary component from benthic and inshore habitats. Variability in δ 15 N values (6.9 to 10.8) implied different patterns of foraging among whale sharks, likely indicating movement among foraging localities that occur at Ningaloo Reef and along the Western Australian coast. There was evidence of enrichment in 15 N occurring with increasing size in males and females, a pattern that could have been due to changes in growth rate and trophic level with age and/or an ontogenetic shift in feeding grounds. Given the variability potentially induced in stable isotope values by differences in rates of turnover of tissues and the use of diet-to-tissue discrimination factors, future studies would benefit from a multi-technique approach using different tissues to identify the diet of whale sharks.

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“…Whale sharks swam at a mean speed of ~28 km d -1 which is within the large range of swimming speeds reported in previous studies. Larger sharks (>900 cm TL) tagged in other locations exhibited similar speeds to juveniles (Wilson et al, 2006;Hearn et al, 2016), and the difference in distance covered per day among studies is likely to be primarily influenced by the sharks' behaviour (feeding vs. migrating) rather than their size, at least for sharks >400 cm TL. Similarly, total mean track distance in different studies is likely to be influenced by both tracking duration and whale shark behaviour.…”

Section: Preherence Hor Shelh Watersmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Whale sharks Rhincodon typus move thousands of kilometres horizontally (Hueter, Tyminski & de la Parra, 2013;Berumen et al, 2014;Hearn et al, 2016) and perform vertical dives to >1,900 m depth (Tyminski et al, 2015). Although they actively move and do not simply follow surface ocean currents (Sleeman et al, 2010), ecological drivers of their movements are poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #1 of "Satellite tagging highlights the importance of productive Mozambican coastal waters to the ecology and conservation of whale sharks (v0.1)"

Kiszka¹

2018

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The whale shark Rhincodon typus is an endangered, highly migratory species with a wide, albeit patchy, distribution through tropical oceans. Ten aerial survey flights along the southern Mozambican coast, conducted between 2004-2008, documented a relatively high density of whale sharks along a ~200 km stretch of the Inhambane Province, with a pronounced hotspot adjacent to Praia do Tofo. To examine the residency and movement of whale sharks in coastal areas around Praia do Tofo, where they may be more susceptible to gill net entanglement, we tagged 15 juveniles with SPOT5 satellite tags and tracked them for 2-88 days (mean = 27 days) as they dispersed from this area. Sharks travelled between 10 and 2,737 km (mean = 738 km) at a mean horizontal speed of 28 ± 17.1 SD km day -1 . While several individuals left shelf waters and travelled across international boundaries, most sharks stayed in Mozambican coastal waters over the tracking period.We tested for whale shark habitat preferences, using sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration and water depth as variables, by computing 100 random model tracks for each real shark based on their empirical movement characteristics. Whale sharks spent significantly more time in cooler, shallower water with higher chlorophyll-a concentrations than model sharks, suggesting that feeding in productive coastal waters is an important driver of their movements. To investigate what this coastal habitat choice PeerJ reviewing PDF | Manuscript to be reviewed means for their conservation in Mozambique, we mapped gill nets during two dedicated aerial surveys along the Inhambane coast and counted gill nets in 1,323 boat-based surveys near Praia do Tofo. Our results show that, while whale sharks are capable of longdistance oceanic movements, they can spend a disproportionate amount of time in specific areas, such as along the southern Mozambique coast. The increasing use of drifting gill nets in this coastal hotspot for whale sharks is likely to be a threat to regional populations of this iconic species.PeerJ reviewing PDF | AbstractThe whale shark Rhincodon typus is an endangered, highly migratory species with a wide, albeit patchy, distribution through tropical oceans. Ten aerial survey flights along the southern Mozambican coast, conducted between 2004-2008, documented a relatively high density of whale sharks along a ~200 km stretch of the Inhambane Province, with a pronounced hotspot adjacent to Praia do Tofo. To examine the residency and movement of whale sharks in coastal areas around Praia do Tofo, where they may be more susceptible to gill net entanglement, we tagged 15 juveniles with SPOT5 satellite tags and tracked them for 2-88 days (mean = 27 days) as they dispersed from this area. Sharks travelled between 10 and 2,737 km (mean = 738 km) at a mean horizontal speed of 28 ± 17.1 SD km day -1 . While several individuals left shelf waters and travelled across international boundaries, most sharks stayed in Mozambican coastal waters over the tracking period. We tested for wha...

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Adult female whale sharks make long-distance movements past Darwin Island (Galapagos, Ecuador) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Cited by 42 publications

References 52 publications

Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Stable Isotope Analysis of Dermis and the Foraging Behavior of Whale Sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

Peer Review #1 of "Satellite tagging highlights the importance of productive Mozambican coastal waters to the ecology and conservation of whale sharks (v0.1)"

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