Dataset Information

The trophic role of a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier.

ABSTRACT: Tiger sharks were sampled off the western (Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay) and eastern (the Great Barrier Reef; GBR, Queensland and New South Wales; NSW) coastlines of Australia. Multiple tissues were collected from each shark to investigate the effects of location, size and sex of sharks on ?¹³C and ?¹⁵N stable isotopes among these locations. Isotopic composition of sharks sampled in reef and seagrass habitats (Shark Bay, GBR) reflected seagrass-based food-webs, whereas at Ningaloo Reef analysis revealed a dietary transition between pelagic and seagrass food-webs. In temperate habitats off southern Queensland and NSW coasts, shark diets relied on pelagic food-webs. Tiger sharks occupied roles at the top of food-webs at Shark Bay and on the GBR, but not at Ningaloo Reef or off the coast of NSW. Composition of ?¹³C in tissues was influenced by body size and sex of sharks, in addition to residency and diet stability. This variability in stable isotopic composition of tissues is likely to be a result of adaptive foraging strategies that allow these sharks to exploit multiple shelf and offshore habitats. The trophic role of tiger sharks is therefore both context- and habitat-dependent, consistent with a generalist, opportunistic diet at the population level.

SUBMITTER: Ferreira LC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5550416 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The trophic role of a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier.

Ferreira Luciana C LC Thums Michele M Heithaus Michael R MR Barnett Adam A Abrantes Kátya G KG Holmes Bonnie J BJ Zamora Lara M LM Frisch Ashley J AJ Pepperell Julian G JG Burkholder Derek D Vaudo Jeremy J Nowicki Robert R Meeuwig Jessica J Meekan Mark G MG

Scientific reports 20170809 1

Tiger sharks were sampled off the western (Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay) and eastern (the Great Barrier Reef; GBR, Queensland and New South Wales; NSW) coastlines of Australia. Multiple tissues were collected from each shark to investigate the effects of location, size and sex of sharks on δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N stable isotopes among these locations. Isotopic composition of sharks sampled in reef and seagrass habitats (Shark Bay, GBR) reflected seagrass-based food-webs, whereas at Ninga ...[more]

PMID: 28794497

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Project description:Knowledge of the habitat use and migration patterns of large sharks is important for assessing the effectiveness of large predator Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), vulnerability to fisheries and environmental influences, and management of shark-human interactions. Here we compare movement, reef-fidelity, and ocean migration for tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, across the Coral Sea, with an emphasis on New Caledonia. Thirty-three tiger sharks (1.54 to 3.9 m total length) were tagged with passive acoustic transmitters and their localised movements monitored on receiver arrays in New Caledonia, the Chesterfield and Lord Howe Islands in the Coral Sea, and the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Satellite tags were also used to determine habitat use and movements among habitats across the Coral Sea. Sub-adults and one male adult tiger shark displayed year-round residency in the Chesterfields with two females tagged in the Chesterfields and detected on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, after 591 and 842 days respectively. In coastal barrier reefs, tiger sharks were transient at acoustic arrays and each individual demonstrated a unique pattern of occurrence. From 2009 to 2013, fourteen sharks with satellite and acoustic tags undertook wide-ranging movements up to 1114 km across the Coral Sea with eight detected back on acoustic arrays up to 405 days after being tagged. Tiger sharks dove 1136 m and utilised three-dimensional activity spaces averaged at 2360 km³. The Chesterfield Islands appear to be important habitat for sub-adults and adult male tiger sharks. Management strategies need to consider the wide-ranging movements of large (sub-adult and adult) male and female tiger sharks at the individual level, whereas fidelity to specific coastal reefs may be consistent across groups of individuals. Coastal barrier reef MPAs, however, only afford brief protection for large tiger sharks, therefore determining the importance of other oceanic Coral Sea reefs should be a priority for future research.

Dataset Information

The trophic role of a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier.

Publications

The trophic role of a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier.

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