Large-scale movements and site fidelity of bull sharks at Reunion Island

Published on
16. January 2020

Large-scale movements and site fidelity of bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) at Reunion Island (Indian ocean)

Marc Soria, Yann Tremblay, Antonin Blaison, Fabien Forget, Estelle Crochelet, Laurent Dagorn

ABSTRACT:

Two bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) were tagged in coastal waters off Reunion Island in the tropical Indian Ocean and where tracked for 174 and 139 days using both popup satellite archival tags (pSAT) and acoustic tags. Both sharks spent a majority of their time inshore (58.1% and 89.9% in the male and the female respectively). The female performed short excursions. The male alternated residence time along the coast with wide ranging movements and performed one extensive open-ocean excursion near a seamount situated at more than 200 km from the island. The differences in the residency and home range of both sharks probably reflect different patterns of foraging and mating behaviors in the male and the female. These results underline the importance of developing risk-mitigation management taking into account the movements of sharks, and of double tagging in telemetry studies that attempt to measure the degree of fidelity of a species.

Marine and Freshwater Ecology. DOI 10.21203/rs.2.21006/v1

SOURCE

1 Comment

  1. Islander 974

    The data from this study com from CHARC study in Réunion Island where 38 bull shark where tagged ,So why this study is only with Two bull shark ? and why did they chose in this 38 bull shark the particular one wich made a wide ranging movement (the others one not)? how and why scientist made général statement on a particular and atypic data

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