An Unprecedented Aggregation of Whale Sharks, Rhincodon typus, in Mexican Coastal Waters of the Caribbean Sea

Venegas, Rafael de la Parra; Hueter, Robert E.; Cano, Jaime González; Tyminski, John P.; Remolina, José Gregorio; Maslanka, Mike; Ormos, Andrea; Weigt, Lee A.; Carlson, Bruce; Dove, Alistair D. M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018994

Cited by 111 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…Whale sharks appear seasonally at most of their coastal aggregation sites around the world, with their visitation normally coinciding with increased prey availability (Taylor 1996, Nelson & Eckert 2007, Riley et al 2010, de la Parra Venegas et al 2011, Rowat et al 2011. The lack of a seasonal signal in whale shark sightings in this study indicates a departure from this general rule.…”

Section: Is Megafauna Visitation Seasonal?mentioning

confidence: 60%

Trends in sightings and environmental influences on a coastal aggregation of manta rays and whale sharks

Rohner¹,

Pierce²,

Marshall³

et al. 2013

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

121

145

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Sightings of planktivorous elasmobranchs at their coastal aggregation sites are often linked to biological, environmental and temporal variables. Many large planktivorous elasmobranchs are also globally threatened species, so it is necessary to try and separate population trends from environmentally driven, short-term fluctuations. We investigated the influence of environmental variables on sightings of 3 species of planktivorous elasmobranchs off Praia do Tofo, Mozambique: the reef manta ray Manta alfredi, giant manta ray M. birostris and whale shark Rhincodon typus. We used 8-(2003We used 8-( to 2011We used 8-( ) and 6-yr (2005We used 8-( to 2011 logbook data for manta rays and whale sharks, respectively, and constructed a generalised linear model with animal sightings as the response. Predictors included temporal (year, month, time of day), biological (plankton categories), oceanographic (water temperature, time from high tide, current direction and strength and wave height) and celestial (moon illumination) indices. These predictors best fitted reef manta ray sightings, a coastal species with high residency, but less so for the wider-ranging giant manta rays and whale sharks. We found a significant decline in the standardised sightings time series for the reef manta ray (88%) and whale shark (79%), but not for the giant manta ray.

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Section: Is Megafauna Visitation Seasonal?mentioning

confidence: 60%

Trends in sightings and environmental influences on a coastal aggregation of manta rays and whale sharks

Rohner¹,

Pierce²,

Marshall³

et al. 2013

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

121

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As a result, the region has recently attracted seasonal numbers that highlights the significance of the Azores in the global network of well-established areas of seasonal aggregations in other regions [3], [8], [9], [12], [13]. Yet, the relevance of this region as oceanic habitat and its connectivity with other habitats across the Atlantic needs to be clarified.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of Whale Shark Occurrence at Their Fringe Oceanic Habitat

Afonso

McGinty

Machete³

2014

PLoS ONE

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Studies have shown that the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), a vulnerable large filter feeder, seasonally aggregates at highly productive coastal sites and that individuals can perform large, trans-boundary migrations to reach these locations. Yet, the whereabouts of the whale shark when absent from these sites and the potential oceanographic and biological drivers involved in shaping their present and future habitat use, including that located at the fringes of their suitable oceanic habitat, are largely unknown. We analysed a 16-year (1998–2013) observer dataset from the pole-and-line tuna fishery across the Azores (mid-North Atlantic) and used GAM models to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of whale shark occurrence in relation to oceanographic features. Across this period, the whale shark became a regular summer visitor to the archipelago after a sharp increase in sighting frequency seen in 2008. We found that SST helps predicting their occurrence in the region associated to the position of the seasonal 22°C isotherm, showing that the Azores are at a thermal boundary for this species and providing an explanation for the post 2007 increase. Within the region, whale shark detections were also higher in areas of increased bathymetric slope and closer to the seamounts, coinciding with higher chl-a biomass, a behaviour most probably associated to increased feeding opportunities. They also showed a tendency to be clustered around the southernmost island of Santa Maria. This study shows that the region integrates the oceanic habitat of adult whale shark and suggests that an increase in its relative importance for the Atlantic population might be expected in face of climate change.

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“…Motta e Wilga (2001) salientam ainda que grande parte de tais conhecimentos advém de observações anedóticas. Por exemplo, nos últimos anos, pescadores têm reportado aos cientistas inúmeras agregações alimentares sazonais de tubarões-baleia (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828) ao redor do mundo (DE LA PARRA VENEGAS et al, 2011;HEYMAN et al, 2001;JONAHSON;HARDING, 2007;STACEY et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Conhecimento ecológico local de pescadores artesanais do sul da Bahia, Brasil, sobre as interações tróficas de tubarões

Filho

Costa-Neto

2016

Biotemas

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ResumoNão obstante as graves ameaças que enfrentam as espécies de tubarões que habitam a Costa Central brasileira, os conhecimentos sobre a história de vida desses animais ainda são bastante escassos. O presente estudo descreve o conhecimento e percepções de pescadores do sul da Bahia, Brasil, sobre interações tróicas de tubarões. O objetivo deste trabalho foi gerar informações cientíicas que contribuam para um maior entendimento sobre a história de vida das espécies de tubarões existentes nessa pouco conhecida região. Em 2012, realizaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas com 65 pescadores, com mais de 15 anos de experiência, sobre a pesca e aspectos da alimentação desses peixes. Os participantes detêm conhecimentos etnoecológicos detalhados sobre os comportamentos alimentares dos tubarões, além de terem apontado 39 tipos de itens como componentes da dieta desses animais. Reconhecem também as presas preferenciais de cada etnoespécie de tubarão. Sugere-se o desenvolvimento de pesquisas semelhantes sobre os tubarões ao longo da costa brasileira. Assim, será possível gerar conhecimentos mais detalhados e/ou novas hipóteses cientíicas sobre as relações interespecíicas desses predadores e também das suas presas.Palavras-chave: Alimentação; Elasmobrânquios; Etnoecologia; História de vida; Nordeste do Brasil AbstractLocal ecological knowledge of artisanal ishermen in southern Bahia, Brazil, about trophic interactions of sharks. Despite the serious threats that affect shark species living along the central coast of Brazil, knowledge about the life history of these animals is still scarce. The present study describes the knowledge and perceptions of ishermen from southern Bahia, Brazil, on the trophic interactions of sharks.The objective of this work was to generate information that contributes to a better understanding of the life history of sharks from this poorly known region. In 2012, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 ishermen, with over 15 years of experience, about isheries and aspects of shark feeding behavior.The study found that the participants have comprehensive ethno-ecological knowledge about shark feeding habits, describing 39 types of items as components of the diets of these animals. They are also able to recognize the favored items in the diet of each ethnospecies of shark. Similar studies about shark feeding habits along the Brazilian coast should be developed. This will generate more detailed knowledge and/or new scientiic hypotheses about the interspeciic relationships of these predators and their prey.

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An Unprecedented Aggregation of Whale Sharks, Rhincodon typus, in Mexican Coastal Waters of the Caribbean Sea

Cited by 111 publications

References 16 publications

Trends in sightings and environmental influences on a coastal aggregation of manta rays and whale sharks

Trends in sightings and environmental influences on a coastal aggregation of manta rays and whale sharks

Dynamics of Whale Shark Occurrence at Their Fringe Oceanic Habitat

Conhecimento ecológico local de pescadores artesanais do sul da Bahia, Brasil, sobre as interações tróficas de tubarões

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