Occurrence, home range and movement patterns of juvenile bull (Carcharhinus leucas) and lemon (Negaprion brevirostris) sharks within a Florida estuary

Yeiser, B.G., Heupel, M.R., and Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2008) Occurrence, home range and movement patterns of juvenile bull (Carcharhinus leucas) and lemon (Negaprion brevirostris) sharks within a Florida estuary. Marine and Freshwater Research, 59 (6). pp. 489-501.

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Abstract

The movement patterns of large juveniles are poorly known for many shark species. With increasing pressure on shark populations these data are critical for the management of large coastal species. A series of acoustic receivers were positioned in Pine Island Sound, Florida, USA, to passively track the long-term movements of large juvenile bull (Carcharhinus leucas) and lemon (Negaprion brevirostris) sharks. Nineteen C. leucas and five N. brevirostris were monitored during 2003 and 2004. Individual C. leucas were present for 8 to 89 days, while N. brevirostris were present for 12 to 83 days. Weekly minimum convex polygons and kernel utilisation distributions were calculated to demonstrate the home range and core areas of use of both species. Spectral analysis demonstrated that several N. brevirostris showed repetitive diel north–south movement patterns over periods of up to 28 consecutive days. C. leucas demonstrated regular use of backwater habitats. Long-term use of estuarine areas by these large juvenile sharks suggests that estuarine coastal lagoons provide an important habitat for this portion of their life history and as such, protection of these habitats may assist in shark management and conservation.

Item ID: 6782
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1448-6059
Keywords: acoustic monitoring; bull sharks; lemon sharks; Florida; estuarine sciences
Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2010 23:50
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 50%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060201 Behavioural Ecology @ 50%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960506 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments @ 51%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960802 Coastal and Estuarine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 49%
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