A rare occurrence of a whale shark in a contaminated estuary in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean
17 October 2021
A rare occurrence of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in a contaminated estuary in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean
Lorena Nascimento, João Batista Teixeira, Luciano Cajaíba, Jonathas Barreto, Amanda Giacomo, Nelson Barcelos, Agnaldo Martins
ABSTRACT:
An individual whale shark (Rhincodon typus) was recorded on January 15, 2020, during the marine megafauna drone-monitoring. The animal was filmed for approximately 400 m of swimming at an average speed of 4.8 km/h, 650 m southwest of the mouth of a river impacted by the rupture of a mining tailing dam 5 years ago. The whale shark is a filter-feeding and highly migratory species. This is a rare record of this threatened species, representing the importance of recovering and protecting biodiversity in the Rio Doce river mouth region.
Environ Biol Fish (2021). DOI:10.1007/s10641-021-01170-z