Variation in depth of whitetip reef sharks: does provisioning ecotourism change their behaviour?

Fitzpatrick, Richard; Abrantes, Kátya G.; Seymour, Jamie; Barnett, Adam

doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0769-8

Cited by 113 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Similar to observations from other shark feeding dive sites (Fitzpatrick et al, 2011;Maljkovi c & Côt e, 2011), individuals consume different amounts of food and not all individuals that are attracted to these sites actually feed. For example, on 7 February 2008, the estimated number of bull sharks present at the 16 m feeding site was 15.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…For example, Maljkovi c & Côt e (2011) found that 11% of all individual Caribbean reef sharks Carcharhinus perezi recorded at a provisioning site in the Bahamas took over 50% of the bait on offer. At Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea, Australia, Fitzpatrick et al (2011) noted that only a small proportion of grey reef sharks Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos present at the provisioning site manage to feed during a provisioning event. Moreover, of 158 whale sharks Rhincodon typus identified, 54 (34%) were observed feeding at a provisioning site in Oslob Philippines (Araujo et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adding to the variability is that also the amount and type of food being used varies considerably among dive operators in different locations. Whereas some operators chum (Laroche et al, 2007), others feed whole fish heads (Brunnschweiler & Baensch, 2011), or fresh or frozen small fish, cut bait or stripped carcasses (Fitzpatrick et al, 2011;Maljkovi c & Côt e, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Hand feeding can periodically fuel a major portion of bull shark energy requirements at a provisioning site in Fiji

Brunnschweiler

Payne

Barnett

2017

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildlife tourism is often extolled for its contribution to conservation. However, understanding the effects of tourism activities on the health of target animals is required to fully assess conservation benefits. Shark tourism operators often use food rewards to attract sharks in close proximity to tourists, but nothing is known about the contribution of these food rewards to the energetic requirements of target species. In this study, hand feeding of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas was directly observed on 36 commercial shark watching dives in the Shark Reef Marine Reserve (SRMR), Fiji. Mean number of tuna heads consumed per dive by focal individuals ranged from 1.3 to 3.7. Monitored bull sharks consumed an average of~0.74 heads per provisioning day, and bioenergetics modelling suggests that some sharks might periodically be meeting their full energy requirement from provisioning at the SRMR. Knowing how much individual sharks consume at provisioning sites and how this relates to their energy requirements is crucial in order to better understand the effects of wildlife tourism and its contribution to conservation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hand feeding can periodically fuel a major portion of bull shark energy requirements at a provisioning site in Fiji

Brunnschweiler

Payne

Barnett

2017

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…If these activities attract whitetips to CI, this intentional and unintentional provisioning of whitetips could impact their life history. In sharks, changes in feeding behavior, aggression, and movement patterns have been suggested and/or demonstrated as a result of provisioning (Fitzpatrick et al 2011, Maljkovi & Côté 2011, Bruce & Bradford 2013, Brunnschweiler & Barnett 2013. Modification of migratory patterns in response to provisioning has been demonstrated in other shark species (Bruce & Bradford 2013), as has a lack of response to provisioning (Hammerschlag et al 2012).…”

Section: Potential Effects Of Provisioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet shift and site-fidelity of oceanic whitetip sharks Carcharhinus longimanus along the Great Bahama Bank

Madigan

Brooks²,

Bond³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Identifying the driving forces behind oceanic pelagic shark movements is key to a better understanding of their life history. Some oceanic pelagic shark species have been shown to aggregate in specific regions to mate and/or exploit abundant food resources. The oceanic whitetip shark Carcharhinus longimanus, a subtropical, ectothermic, oceanic pelagic shark that has experienced severe population declines, aggregates seasonally around Cat Island (CI) in The Bahamas. Large pelagic teleosts (e.g. billfish, tunas, and dolphinfish) are abundant in this region and oceanic whitetips are anecdotally reported to feed heavily on recreationally caught teleosts. However, it was unknown whether feeding habits at CI substantially differ from longer-term feeding habits. We used tag-recapture to assess site-fidelity of adult oceanic whitetips to CI and stable isotope analysis (SIA) of 2 different tissues (blood plasma and white muscle) to compare short-and long-term feeding patterns. The relatively high recapture rate (20.3%) confirmed that individual whitetips exhibit site-fidelity to CI. The aggregation consisted of adult individuals; females were more common, more than half were gravid, and no physical or behavioral evidence of mating or parturition was observed at CI. SIA-based Bayesian mixing model estimates of short-term (near CI) diets showed more large pelagic teleosts (72%) than in long-term diets (47%), showing a spatiotemporal difference in oceanic whitetip feeding habits. This suggests that availability of large teleost prey is a possible mechanism underpinning site-fidelity and aggregation of whitetips at CI. These results provide insight into the function of one of the last known aggregations of this once-abundant top predator.

show abstract

“…Esta especie suele ser avistada descansando durante el día sobre el fondo marino cerca de arrecifes coralinos y rocosos, mientras en horas de la noche se vuelve muy activo (Randall, 1977). Incluso esta especie manifiesta niveles más altos de actividad metabólica durante la noche que en el día (Whitney, Papastamatiou, Holland, & Lowe, 2007;Fitzpatrick, Abrantes, Seymour, & Barnett, 2011). Como se mencionó antes, el tiburón T. obesus fue la especie más abundante en las bahías del PNIC, esto explica que la mayoría de las capturas totales se efectuaran entre las 19:00 y 21:00 hr.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Poblaciones de tiburones en las bahías Chatham y Wafer del Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica

Zanella¹,

López-Garro²,

Martínez³

et al. 2016

RBT

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Shark populations in Chatham and Wafer bays, Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica. At least fourteen species of sharks live in the Marine Protected Area of Isla del Coco National Park (ICNP), some are resident species such as the whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus); others are migratory and visit the National Park throughout the year, e.g. the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) and the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Between March 2010 and August 2012 six expeditions out to the ICNP were carried, during this period 25 night trips (from 18:00 to 22:00 hr) for shark tagging were conducted in the Wafer and Chatham bays. During those trips, 185 sharks were analyzed: 81.1 % were whitetip reef sharks (T. obesus), 16.7 % were blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus), 1.1 % were blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and 1.1% were silvertip sharks (Carcharhinus albimarginatus). The most common species in Bahía Chatham was T. obesus, while the most common one in Bahía Wafer was C. limbatus, which represented 80.9 % and 80.5 % of the total sharks caught, respectively. Regarding T. obesus, a sex ratio of 1.2 males per female was estimated (X 2 =0.09; p=0.17); in turn a sex ratio of 1.01 males per female was observed (X 2 =0.04; p=0.79) for C. limbatus. The average total length for T. obesus and C. limbatus was 103.66±13.91 cm and 76.58±14.56 cm respectively; suggesting that black tip sharks use those bays during immature stages. The results show an interspecific spatial segregation of the most common resident sharks at ICNP, apparently the clear waters and the coral cover of Chatham Bay are preferred by T. obesus; while the turbid waters of the Genio River mouth are preferred by C. limbatus. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (Suppl. 1): S177-S186. Epub 2016 February 01.

show abstract

Variation in depth of whitetip reef sharks: does provisioning ecotourism change their behaviour?

Cited by 113 publications

References 25 publications

Hand feeding can periodically fuel a major portion of bull shark energy requirements at a provisioning site in Fiji

Hand feeding can periodically fuel a major portion of bull shark energy requirements at a provisioning site in Fiji

Diet shift and site-fidelity of oceanic whitetip sharks Carcharhinus longimanus along the Great Bahama Bank

Poblaciones de tiburones en las bahías Chatham y Wafer del Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About