Satellite tracking of juvenile whale sharks in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Philippines

PeerJ

article

Gonzalo Araujo¹  Christoph A. Rohner²  Jessica Labaja¹  Segundo J. Conales³  Sally J. Snow¹  Ryan Murray¹  Simon J. Pierce²  Alessandro Ponzo¹ 

[1] Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines;Marine Megafauna Foundation;Tubbataha Management Office, Puerto Princesa City

关键词: Ecology;    Movement patterns;    Telemetry;    Satellite tagging;    Endangered;    Distribution;    Tubbataha;    Connectivity;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.5231

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

The whale shark Rhincodon typus50% population decline, largely caused by continued exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. Though the Philippines protected the whale shark in 1998, concerns remain due to continued take in regional waters. In light of this, understanding the movements of whale sharks in the Philippines, one of the most important hotspots for the species, is vital. We tagged 17 juvenile whale sharks with towed SPOT5 tags from three general areas in the Sulu and Bohol Seas: Panaon Island in Southern Leyte, northern Mindanao, and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP). The sharks all remained in Philippine waters for the duration of tracking (6–126 days, mean 64). Individuals travelled 86–2,580 km (mean 887 km) at a mean horizontal speed of 15.5 ± 13.0 SD km day−1200 m) during the night, in contrast to results from whale sharks elsewhere. While all sharks stayed in national waters, our results highlight the high mobility of juvenile whale sharks and demonstrate their connectivity across the Sulu and Bohol Seas, highlighting the importance of the area for this endangered species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY