Seasonal aggregations of blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus at a marine protected area in the Gulf of California, assessed by unoccupied aerial vehicle surveys

K.A., Ayres; J.T., Ketchum; Rogelio, González-Armas; Felipe, Galván-Magaña; A., Hearn; Fernando Ricardo, Elorriaga-Verplancken; R.O., Martínez-Rincón; E.M., Hoyos-Padilla; S.M., Kajiura

Regresar

Resumen del producto

Ayres, K.A., J.T., Ketchum, R., González-Armas, F., Galván-Magaña, A., Hearn, F.R., Elorriaga-Verplancken, R.O., Martínez-Rincón, E.M., Hoyos-Padilla & S.M., Kajiura (2021). Seasonal aggregations of blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus at a marine protected area in the Gulf of California, assessed by unoccupied aerial vehicle surveys. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 678: 95-107. DOI: 10.3354/meps13897.

Seasonal aggregations of blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus at a marine protected area in the Gulf of California, assessed by unoccupied aerial vehicle surveys

K.A. Ayres, J.T. Ketchum, Rogelio González-Armas, Felipe Galván-Magaña, A. Hearn, Fernando Ricardo Elorriaga-Verplancken, R.O. Martínez-Rincón, E.M. Hoyos-Padilla y S.M. Kajiura

No-take marine protected areas (MPAs) can provide spatial refuge for species throughout all or part of their life cycles. Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP) is a no-take MPA located on the south-east coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, where there has been an increase in the abundance and diversity of elasmobranch species since its closure to fishing. An unoccupied aerial vehicle was used to complete weekly aerial surveys over sandy habitat in CPNP to determine the relative abundance of blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus over a 1 yr period in 2019. C. limbatus were only observed during winter months, and abundance per survey ranged between 7 and 1086 sharks (289 ± 59, mean ± SE), yielding a maximum density of 4827 ind. km-2. A generalized additive model determined that sea surface temperature (SST), time of day, photoperiod and wind speed were significant influencers of C. limbatus abundance. According to this model, higher abundance is expected when SST is lower than 25°C, during the afternoon, at low wind speeds ( to the shoreline is likely a result of a refuging behaviour, with sharks utilising the shallow sandy habitat to behaviourally thermoregulate and/or to avoid predators.

Palabras clave: aerial survey; drone; Unoccupied aerial system; generalized additive model; Elasmobranch; Cabo Pulmo National Park; Environmental factors; Refuging

Para obtener una copia del documento contacta la personal de la biblioteca a través del correo bibliocicimar{a}ipn.mx

Regresar