Conservation implications of forage base requirements of a marine predator population at carrying capacity

Dunn, Ruth E.; Bradley, Darcy; Heithaus, Michael R.; Caselle, Jennifer E.; Papastamatiou, Yannis P.

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103646

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…We, therefore, recommend that conservation efforts in South Africa should avoid a predator-centric approach (single species conservation strategy) and rather adopt a holistic ecosystem-based approach that acknowledges the management needs of important prey species to sustain the carrying capacity of a top predator population [30], particularly when the population is of conservation concern, and has a high tourism value.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active acoustic telemetry reveals ontogenetic habitat-related variations in the coastal movement ecology of the white shark

2022

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Background Little is known about the fine-scale behavioural choices white sharks make. The assessment of movement at high spatio-temporal resolution can improve our understanding of behavioural patterns. Active acoustic telemetry was used along a coastal seascape of South Africa to investigate the movement-patterns of 19 white sharks tracked for 877 h within habitats known to host different prey types. Results A three-state hidden Markov model showed higher ontogenetic variability in the movements of white sharks around estuary-related coastal reef systems compared to around a pinniped colony. Our results further suggest white sharks (1) use the same searching strategy in areas where either pinnipeds or fishes are present; (2) occupy sub-tidal reef habitats possibly for either conserving energy or recovering energy spent hunting, and (3) travel directly between the other two states. Conclusions White sharks appear not to simply roam coastal habitats, but rather adopt specific temporally optimized behaviours associated with distinct habitat features. The related behaviours are likely the result of a balance among ontogenetic experience, trophic niche, and energetics, aimed at maximizing the use of temporally and spatially heterogeneous environments and resources. The possible implications for the future conservation of white sharks in coastal areas are discussed, with particular attention to South Africa’s present conservation and management challenges.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active acoustic telemetry reveals ontogenetic habitat-related variations in the coastal movement ecology of the white shark

2022

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“…Therefore, quantifying prey productivity is crucial for estimating the amount of prey available to predator populations and for predicting what proportion of that productivity may be consumed over time. These estimates are very rarely made for upper‐level marine predators (Dunn et al, 2021; Mourier et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat‐specific impacts of climate change on the trophic demand of a marine predator

Luongo,

Schneider,

Harborne

et al. 2023

Ecology

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Metabolic ecology predicts that ectotherm metabolic rates, and thus consumption rates, will increase with body size and temperature. Predicted climatic increases in temperature are likely to increase the consumption rates of ectothermic predators; however, the ecological impact of these increases will partly depend on whether prey productivity changes with temperature at a similar rate. Furthermore, total predator consumption and prey productivity will depend on species abundances that vary across habitat types. Here we combine energetics and biotelemetry to measure consumption rates in a critically endangered coral reef predator, the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), in The Bahamas. We estimate that, at present, the Nassau grouper needs to consume 2.2% ± 1.0% body weight day−1, but this could increase up to 24% with a predicted 3.1°C increase in ocean temperature by the end of the century. We then used surveys of prey communities in two major reef habitat types (Orbicella reef and Gorgonian plain), to predict the proportion of prey productivity consumed by grouper and how this varied by habitat with changing climates. We found that at present, the predicted proportion of prey productivity consumed by Nassau grouper decreased with increasing prey productivity and averaged 1.2% across all habitats, with a greater proportion of prey productivity consumed (maximum of 5%) in Gorgonian plain habitats. However, because temperature increases consumption rates faster than prey productivity, the proportion of prey productivity consumed in a Gorgonian plain habitat could increase up to 24% under future climate change scenarios. Our results suggest that increasing ocean temperatures will lead to significant energetic challenges for the Nassau grouper because of differential impacts within reef food webs, but the magnitude of these impacts will probably vary across prey productivity gradients.

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High-Trophic-Level Consumers: Elasmobranchs

Casareto

Vaudo

Heithaus

2024

Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science (Second Edition)

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Conservation implications of forage base requirements of a marine predator population at carrying capacity

Cited by 6 publications

References 66 publications

Active acoustic telemetry reveals ontogenetic habitat-related variations in the coastal movement ecology of the white shark

Active acoustic telemetry reveals ontogenetic habitat-related variations in the coastal movement ecology of the white shark

Habitat‐specific impacts of climate change on the trophic demand of a marine predator

High-Trophic-Level Consumers: Elasmobranchs

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