Shark habituation to a food-related olfactory cue

Heinrich, Dennis D.U.; Huveneers, Charlie; Houslay, Thomas M.; Dhellemmes, Félicie; Brown, Culum

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.03.003

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…Thus, potential impacts of shark provisioning must be carefully considered in order to avoid negative consequences to sharks and people. Our current results support those of other recent studies suggesting a general lack of chronic or irreversible impacts of feeding activities on sharks 24 , 25 , 40 , 50 , 57 – 59 . In fact the positive experiences of participants in these activities leads to important economic benefits and increased support for shark conservation 60 – 62 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Provisioning ecotourism does not increase tiger shark site fidelity

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Begue

Meyer

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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A perennial criticism of provisioning ecotourism is that it alters the natural behavior and ecology of the target species by providing an artificial food source. Here we evaluate its impact on the long-term site fidelity patterns of tiger sharks in French Polynesia. We hypothesized that a significant impact of provisioning would lead to (1) increases in individual site fidelity over time, and (2) an increase in the number of resident individuals over time. Of 53 individuals photo-identified and monitored during > 500 dives over five years, 10 individuals accounted for > 75% of all sightings, whereas 35 sharks were sighted very infrequently. Even the most frequently observed tiger sharks exhibited overall low fidelity at the site and showed no increase in site fidelity over time. Furthermore, the number of tiger sharks sighted during each dive did not increase. The observed patterns of tiger shark sightings were best explained by natural movements, including general roaming within home ranges along the coastline and seasonal migrations. Despite the apparent lack of impact of provisioning ecotourism on tiger shark ecology in Tahitian waters, it would be prudent to implement a strict code of conduct during any future provisioning activities to maximize the safety of participants and animals involved.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Provisioning ecotourism does not increase tiger shark site fidelity

Séguigne

Begue

Meyer

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…In both Palau and the Great Barrier Reef, grey reef sharks have been observed moving to reef habitats during the new moon (Vianna et al, 2013;Heupel and Simpfendorfer, 2014). It may be that the low light conditions during the new moon improve grey reef and white tip reef shark foraging efficiency which increased the likelihood of observing these species in our current study during new moons (Kajiura and Holland, 2002;Heinrich et al, 2022).…”

Section: Moon Illumination and Tidesmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Both grey reef sharks and white tip reef sharks are known to be nocturnal predators which most actively forage on reefs during low-light conditions (Drazen et al, 2011;Vianna et al, 2013;Heupel and Simpfendorfer, 2014). This has been linked with the sharks' senses for detecting prey (outside of the visual) including their ability to detect fine scale changes in dissolved biological compounds through olfaction and their ability to sense bioelectric activity through their Ampullae of Lorenzini (Kajiura and Holland, 2002;Heinrich et al, 2022). In both Palau and the Great Barrier Reef, grey reef sharks have been observed moving to reef habitats during the new moon (Vianna et al, 2013;Heupel and Simpfendorfer, 2014).…”

Section: Moon Illumination and Tidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental factors modulate the distribution of elasmobranchs in southern Mozambique

Murie,

Oliver,

Gavard

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Investigating the spatiotemporal ecology of elasmobranchs is an important precursor to their effective management. Understanding long-term patterns in the movement and habitat use of threatened species can improve management plans so that they yield increased conservation benefits. We investigated the spatiotemporal and environmental drivers that underpin the abundance and distribution of elasmobranchs around reef habitats in southern Mozambique to highlight reefs that are important (“hotspots”) to the regional elasmobranch community. Visual belt transects (n = 738), supported by video recordings, were completed on 16 reef sites off the coast of southern Mozambique from 2018 to 2022. Nine elasmobranch species were encountered annually (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, Triaenodon obesus, Stegostoma tigrinum, Neotrygon caeruleopunctata, Pateobatis jenkinsii, Taeniurops meyeni, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula alfredi, Mobula birostris) and 11 individual environmental and spatiotemporal parameters (horizontal water visibility, tidal range and state, moon illumination, temperature on the reef, cloud cover, time of day, day of the year, transect distance from shore, transect depth, and the region that the transect occurred in) were measured. All species, (bar P. jenkinsii) were significantly more abundant around certain reefs in the sampled region. Total counts for most species were highest in the austral summer however two species’ (M. birostris and S. tigrinum) were most abundant in the winter months. The tidal state, tidal range, and moon illumination correlated significantly with the numbers of each of the nine elasmobranch species. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) indicated that species’ responses to the measured parameters grouped taxonomically. Environmental influences resulted in strong seasonal patterns of reef use by large-bodied and pelagic elasmobranch species (e.g. manta rays). The measured environmental parameters also resulted in daily, monthly, and seasonal patterns of abundance of reef-resident stingray and shark species. Banning extraction of elasmobranch species around the reefs where they aggregate and reflecting species distributions within fisheries regulations may significantly benefit the regional elasmobranch community.

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