Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat.
Studies have shown that the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), a vulnerable large filter feeder, seasonally aggregates at highly productive coastal sites and that individuals can perform large, trans-boundary migrations to reach these locations. Yet, the whereabouts of the whale shark when absent from t...
Published in: | PLoS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 https://doaj.org/article/3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc 2023-05-15T17:35:41+02:00 Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. Pedro Afonso Niall McGinty Miguel Machete 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 https://doaj.org/article/3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4100814?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 https://doaj.org/article/3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 7, p e102060 (2014) Medicine R Science Q article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 2022-12-31T02:26:21Z Studies have shown that the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), a vulnerable large filter feeder, seasonally aggregates at highly productive coastal sites and that individuals can perform large, trans-boundary migrations to reach these locations. Yet, the whereabouts of the whale shark when absent from these sites and the potential oceanographic and biological drivers involved in shaping their present and future habitat use, including that located at the fringes of their suitable oceanic habitat, are largely unknown. We analysed a 16-year (1998-2013) observer dataset from the pole-and-line tuna fishery across the Azores (mid-North Atlantic) and used GAM models to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of whale shark occurrence in relation to oceanographic features. Across this period, the whale shark became a regular summer visitor to the archipelago after a sharp increase in sighting frequency seen in 2008. We found that SST helps predicting their occurrence in the region associated to the position of the seasonal 22°C isotherm, showing that the Azores are at a thermal boundary for this species and providing an explanation for the post 2007 increase. Within the region, whale shark detections were also higher in areas of increased bathymetric slope and closer to the seamounts, coinciding with higher chl-a biomass, a behaviour most probably associated to increased feeding opportunities. They also showed a tendency to be clustered around the southernmost island of Santa Maria. This study shows that the region integrates the oceanic habitat of adult whale shark and suggests that an increase in its relative importance for the Atlantic population might be expected in face of climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Gam ENVELOPE(-57.955,-57.955,-61.923,-61.923) PLoS ONE 9 7 e102060 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Pedro Afonso Niall McGinty Miguel Machete Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Studies have shown that the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), a vulnerable large filter feeder, seasonally aggregates at highly productive coastal sites and that individuals can perform large, trans-boundary migrations to reach these locations. Yet, the whereabouts of the whale shark when absent from these sites and the potential oceanographic and biological drivers involved in shaping their present and future habitat use, including that located at the fringes of their suitable oceanic habitat, are largely unknown. We analysed a 16-year (1998-2013) observer dataset from the pole-and-line tuna fishery across the Azores (mid-North Atlantic) and used GAM models to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of whale shark occurrence in relation to oceanographic features. Across this period, the whale shark became a regular summer visitor to the archipelago after a sharp increase in sighting frequency seen in 2008. We found that SST helps predicting their occurrence in the region associated to the position of the seasonal 22°C isotherm, showing that the Azores are at a thermal boundary for this species and providing an explanation for the post 2007 increase. Within the region, whale shark detections were also higher in areas of increased bathymetric slope and closer to the seamounts, coinciding with higher chl-a biomass, a behaviour most probably associated to increased feeding opportunities. They also showed a tendency to be clustered around the southernmost island of Santa Maria. This study shows that the region integrates the oceanic habitat of adult whale shark and suggests that an increase in its relative importance for the Atlantic population might be expected in face of climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pedro Afonso Niall McGinty Miguel Machete |
author_facet |
Pedro Afonso Niall McGinty Miguel Machete |
author_sort |
Pedro Afonso |
title |
Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
title_short |
Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
title_full |
Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
title_fullStr |
Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
title_sort |
dynamics of whale shark occurrence at their fringe oceanic habitat. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 https://doaj.org/article/3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.955,-57.955,-61.923,-61.923) |
geographic |
Gam |
geographic_facet |
Gam |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 7, p e102060 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4100814?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 https://doaj.org/article/3e20bc5a80cf4f66b2fb96ff9a452edc |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102060 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
e102060 |
_version_ |
1766134921333571584 |