Long‐term tracking captures the timing of ontogenetic niche shifts in northeast Pacific white sharks

Abstract

Ontogenetic changes in area use, habitat use, and trophic interactions play an important role in the ecology, demography, and ultimately population dynamics of many species. Assumed to be driven by shifting life‐history requirements, trophic niche shifts in white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are well documented, but the timing of the spatial niche shift that is hypothesized to occur with the trophic niche shift remains poorly understood. To document how fine‐scale area use varies as sharks age and the timing of the ontogenetic spatial shift of this top predator, we tracked individual white sharks tagged as young‐of‐the‐year or young juveniles over multiple years. Using data from juvenile white sharks detected over multiple years in a nursery habitat with a high‐density receiver array, we found no difference in area use with age. However, using a coast‐wide receiver array including nursery and adult habitat, we found the probability of detecting a juvenile white shark in nursery habitat decreased with age, with a concurrent increasing probability of detection in adult habitat. As the conservation and management of this species relies on understanding nursery habitat use and age‐related movements, data presented here address an important knowledge gap for the understudied juvenile to subadult life stages and the ontogenetic habitat shift of this species.