Scholarlink

<p>Large, mobile predators may act as spatiotemporal drivers of ecosystem processes by using diverse habitats and resource pools. Movement is a critical component of the role predators play as it reveals which habitats they use, which they may connect, and how long they reside in them. The movements of 29 nurse sharks (<i>Ginglymostoma cirratum</i>) at Glover’s Reef Atoll, Belize, were monitored between 2017 and 2022 using passive acoustic telemetry. Nurse sharks exhibited low long-term residency (Residency Index, RI<sub>b</sub> = 0.16 ± 016) within the monitoring area, but maintained regular, consistent presence throughout the duration of their time within the array (RI<sub>a</sub> = 0.61 ± 0.29). The majority of individuals were classified as intermittent-resident or transient to the array. Space use area and residency both increased with shark size. Nearly all sharks were detected in both the lagoon and forereef areas, but the extent of movements between habitats varied greatly between individuals. All sharks showed some evidence of diel habitat shifts primarily using shallow lagoon habitats during the day, but the extent and types of habitats used throughout the day varied by individual. Based on individual variability in habitat use, nurse sharks may differ significantly in their ability to connect habitats.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Individual and size-based variability in movements and residency by nurse sharks at a Caribbean Atoll

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月13日

查看全文
  • Megan C. Kelley,
  • Demian D. Chapman,
  • Kathryn I. Flowers,
  • Norlan Lamb,
  • Ashbert Miranda,
  • Maurits P. M. van Zinnicq Bergmann,
  • Yannis P. Papastamatiou

摘要

Large, mobile predators may act as spatiotemporal drivers of ecosystem processes by using diverse habitats and resource pools. Movement is a critical component of the role predators play as it reveals which habitats they use, which they may connect, and how long they reside in them. The movements of 29 nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) at Glover’s Reef Atoll, Belize, were monitored between 2017 and 2022 using passive acoustic telemetry. Nurse sharks exhibited low long-term residency (Residency Index, RIb = 0.16 ± 016) within the monitoring area, but maintained regular, consistent presence throughout the duration of their time within the array (RIa = 0.61 ± 0.29). The majority of individuals were classified as intermittent-resident or transient to the array. Space use area and residency both increased with shark size. Nearly all sharks were detected in both the lagoon and forereef areas, but the extent of movements between habitats varied greatly between individuals. All sharks showed some evidence of diel habitat shifts primarily using shallow lagoon habitats during the day, but the extent and types of habitats used throughout the day varied by individual. Based on individual variability in habitat use, nurse sharks may differ significantly in their ability to connect habitats.