{"id":171,"date":"2013-08-16T11:39:39","date_gmt":"2013-08-16T15:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wetherbee\/?p=171"},"modified":"2013-08-16T11:39:39","modified_gmt":"2013-08-16T15:39:39","slug":"movement-patterns-and-site-fidelity-of-sharks-and-giant-trevally-around-midway-atoll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wetherbee-lab\/movement-patterns-and-site-fidelity-of-sharks-and-giant-trevally-around-midway-atoll\/","title":{"rendered":"Movement patterns and site fidelity of sharks and giant trevally around Midway Atoll"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brad Wetherbee<\/strong> – Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island
\nChris Lowe<\/strong> – Department of Biological Sciences, Cal State University Long Beach
\nCarl Meyer<\/strong> – Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii<\/p>\n

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) host a variety of large vertebrate animals including sea birds, green sea turtles (Chelonia<\/em>\u00a0mydas<\/em>), Hawaiian monk seals (Monanchus<\/em>schauislandi<\/em>) and large\u00a0teleost\u00a0fish such as\u00a0trevally\u00a0(FamilyCarangidae) and several species of sharks.\u00a0\u00a0The air-breathing vertebrates have been the subject of relatively continuous and well-funded research programs over the past several decades, and many aspects of their biology in the NWHI has been fairly well documented.\u00a0\u00a0However, studies directed at understanding the biology and ecology of large\u00a0teleost\u00a0fish and sharks in the NWHI have lagged substantially behind research conducted on birds, turtles and seals.\u00a0During the summer of 2001 we began a study at Midway Atoll to monitor movements of Galapagos sharks (Carcharhinus<\/em>\u00a0galapagensis<\/em>) near seal\u00a0hauloutbeaches and to examine survivorship and behavior of gianttrevally\u00a0(Caranx<\/em>\u00a0ignobilis<\/em>) captured and released in a commercial sport fishing operation conducted within the Midway National Wildlife Refuge.\u00a0 Movements and residence of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo<\/em>\u00a0cuvier<\/em>) were also investigated at Midway.\u00a0 For each study experimental animals were captured and surgically fitted with long-life, individually coded acoustic transmitters and their movements monitored with an array of automated acoustic monitors deployed at various locations in the atoll.\u00a0During two years of deployment at Midway, hundreds of detections of\u00a0transmittered\u00a0sharks and fish were recorded on the monitors.\u00a0 These data enabled an assessment of long-term movement patterns of these large predators at Midway and within the NWHI.\u00a0 Each species investigated demonstrated somewhat repeated and predictable behavioral patterns that provide a basis for improved understanding of determinants of behavior and for enhanced management of these animals and prey (birds, seals, turtles) with which they may interact.<\/p>\n

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