Defining distribution and habitat use of west‐central Florida’s coastal sharks through a research and education program

Abstract

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Location, Location, Location! Evaluating Space Use of Captive Aquatic Species—A Case Study with Elasmobranchs

“…With this in mind, it is possible that by positioning herself near the high-flow pump, the nurse shark in this study achieved even greater oxygen exchange with minimal effort. In addition, it was unsurprising that the nurse shark had a high SPI value for depth and was most often found in the lower water column (Table 1), because nurse sharks are primarily a benthic species [33,34] and characteristically spend most of their time resting on the seafloor [29]. These results reinforce the importance of taking natural history elements into account when evaluating space-use results, as uneven space use may not necessarily be a cause for welfare concern in some species.…”

“…These three species are therefore typically considered highly exploratory (compared to the smooth dogfish and nurse shark), and, indeed, the SPIs and the heat maps of these species reflected this: all three individuals utilized their exhibits relatively evenly (Table 1). In addition, these three species are generally pelagic, and tend to appear in the open water [34]. It is therefore unsurprising that the data for depth show that these individuals tended to prefer the upper water column.…”