Stingray Habitat Use Is Dynamically Influenced by Temperature and Tides

Abiotic factors often have a large influence on the habitat use of animals in shallow marine environments. Specifically, tides may alter the physical and biological characteristics of an ecosystem while changes in temperature can cause ectothermic species to behaviorally thermoregulate. Understanding the contextual and relative influences of these abiotic factors is important in prioritizing management plans, particularly for vulnerable faunal groups like stingrays. Passive acoustic telemetry was used to track the movements of 60 stingrays at a remote and environmentally heterogeneous atoll in Seychelles. This was to determine if habitat use varied over daily, diel and tidal cycles and to investigate the environmental drivers behind these potential temporal patterns. Individuals were detected in the atoll year-round, but the extent of their movement and use of multiple habitats increased in the warmer NW-monsoon season. Habitat use varied over the diel cycle, but was inconsistent between individuals. Temperature was also found to influence stingray movements, with individuals preferring the deeper and more thermally stable lagoon habitat when extreme (hot or cold) temperature events were observed on the flats. Habitat use also varied over the tidal cycle with stingrays spending a higher proportion of time in the lagoon during the lowest tides, when movement on the flats were constrained due to shallow waters. The interplay of tides and temperature, and how these varied across diel and daily scales, dynamically influenced stingray habitat use consistently between three species in an offshore atoll.

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Addition of passive acoustic telemetry mitigates lost data from satellite-tracked manatees

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf14178 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 66 (4) ◽

pp. 371 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Allen M. Aven ◽

Ruth H. Carmichael ◽

Matthew J. Ajemian ◽

Sean P. Powers

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Acoustic Telemetry ◽

Valuable Data ◽

Use Patterns ◽

Acoustic Transmitter ◽

Movement Data ◽

Acoustic Tags ◽

Passive Acoustic

Satellite-tracked manatees routinely lose satellite tags or tag functionality, resulting in the loss of valuable data on migration and habitat use patterns. Fortunately, some movement data from these animals remain salvageable because manatees typically retain a peduncle belt containing an acoustic transmitter that can be detected with a submersible hydrophone. We deployed an array of moored datalogging hydrophones at key locations in our study area to detect manatee belt-embedded acoustic transmitters, a technique not typically used to track manatees. Our array was successful in detecting five tagged manatees, and concurrently detected compatible acoustic tags of other estuarine fauna (e.g. Bull Sharks) tagged by local researchers. Moored datalogging hydrophones, therefore, provided a method to mitigate the loss of satellite tags from estuarine megafauna, and enhanced collaborative opportunities with researchers who tagged other species using compatible equipment.

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Long-term monitoring provides insight into estuarine top predator (Carcharhinus leucas) resilience following an extreme weather event

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13269 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 639 ◽

pp. 169-183

Author(s):

P Matich ◽

BA Strickland ◽

MR Heithaus

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Acoustic Telemetry ◽

South Florida ◽

Behavioral Variability ◽

Catch Per Unit Effort ◽

Ontogenetic Shifts ◽

Carcharhinus Leucas ◽

Acute Disturbance ◽

Cold Snap

Chronic environmental change threatens biodiversity, but acute disturbance events present more rapid and immediate threats. In 2010, a cold snap across south Florida had wide-ranging impacts, including negative effects on recreational fisheries, agriculture, and ecological communities. Here, we use acoustic telemetry and historical longline monitoring to assess the long-term implications of this event on juvenile bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas in the Florida Everglades. Despite the loss of virtually all individuals (ca. 90%) within the Shark River Estuary during the cold snap, the catch per unit effort (CPUE) of age 0 sharks on longlines recovered through recruitment within 6-8 mo of the event. Acoustic telemetry revealed that habitat use patterns of age 0-2 sharks reached an equilibrium in 4-6 yr. In contrast, the CPUE and habitat use of age 3 sharks required 5-7 yr to resemble pre-cold snap patterns. Environmental conditions and predation risk returned to previous levels within 1 yr of the cold snap, but abundances of some prey species remained depressed for several years. Reduced prey availability may have altered the profitability of some microhabitats after the cold snap, leading to more rapid ontogenetic shifts to marine waters among sharks for several years. Accelerated ontogenetic shifts coupled with inter-individual behavioral variability of bull sharks likely led to a slower recovery rate than predicted based on overall shark CPUE. While intrinsic variation driven by stochasticity in dynamic ecosystems may increase the resistance of species to chronic and acute disturbance, it may also increase recovery time in filling the diversity of niches occupied prior to disturbance if resistive capacity is exceeded.

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Intertidal habitat use of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Bahía San Antonio, Argentina

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315417000856 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 98 (5) ◽

pp. 1109-1118

Author(s):

Els Vermeulen

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Intertidal Zone ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

San Antonio ◽

Bottlenose Dolphins ◽

High Tide ◽

Marine Conservation ◽

Shallow Waters ◽

Encounter Rate ◽

Western Atlantic

Very little information is available on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) habitat use in the South-western Atlantic. It is, however, essential in understanding their ecology and to improve conservation management. In this study, habitat use of bottlenose dolphins was examined in Bahía San Antonio, an area frequented by the species. Given the large tidal amplitude and extended intertidal zone in this bay, special focus was given to the intertidal vs subtidal habitat use patterns. Bottlenose dolphins were observed in only half of the surveyed area, with on average 1 dolphin group encountered per 100 km surveyed. All dolphin groups were seen in shallow waters <10 m deep. GLM analyses showed that especially during high tide, depth had an important effect on the dolphin encounter rate, with most dolphin groups encountered in the intertidal zone. While in the intertidal zone, most dolphin groups were observed to be engaged in surface feeding activities. The presented data indicate dolphins remained in shallow waters, and moved to the intertidal zone during high tide where they appear to find feeding opportunities. This information is believed to be of high value in understanding this population's ecological needs, and essential when aiming to improve marine conservation efforts at times of increased anthropogenic pressures in the area.

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Altitudinal distribution, habitat use, and abundance of Grallaria antpittas in the Central Andes of Colombia

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270900003452 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 271-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Gustavo H. Kattan ◽

J. William Beltran

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Central Andes ◽

Local Scale ◽

Tropical Andes ◽

Altitudinal Distribution ◽

River Watershed ◽

Species Overlap ◽

Management Plans ◽

Early Regeneration

SummaryGrallaria antpittas are a group of little known birds from the understorey of humid forests of the tropical Andes, with several species having very narrow distributions. At Ucumari Regional Park, which protects the Otún River watershed in the Central Andes of Colombia, five species occur sympatrically at 2,400 m, including the recently rediscovered G. milleri, of which this is the only known population. We studied the patterns of altitudinal distribution, habitat use and abundance of the five species in the park. We found altitudinal segregation at a local scale, with two species, G. ruficapilla and G. squamigera, found at lower elevations (1,800–2,500 m) and two other species, G. nuchalis and G. rufocinerea, at higher elevations (2,400–3,000); G. milleri was recorded only in the 2,400–2,600 m range. The five species overlap in the range 2,400–2,600 m, where they occur in three habitats: early regeneration, overgrown alder plantations and 30-year-old forest. There were no differences in density among habitats for any species; the five species used the three habitats in proportion to their occurrence in the landscape. Grallaria milleri had the highest overall density (1.3 ind/ha) while G. squamigera had the lowest density (0.2 ind/ha), and the other three species were intermediate. We estimated 106 individuals of G. milleri in an area of 63 ha, and only seven individuals of G. squamigera. The Otún River watershed concentrates an unusual number of Grallaria antpittas, including three endemic species, and the information presented here is fundamental to any future habitat management plans to ensure the persistence of these populations.

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Habitat selection, fine-scale spatial partitioning and sexual segregation in Rajidae, determined using passive acoustic telemetry

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13701 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

SJ Simpson ◽

NE Humphries ◽

DW Sims

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Acoustic Telemetry ◽

Sexual Segregation ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Spatial Partitioning ◽

Passive Acoustic

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Habitat Use by Fish across Tidal Cycles in a Tropical Estuarine Mangrove Ecosystem (Dongzhaigang Bay, Hainan, China)

Journal of Coastal Research ◽

10.2112/jcoastres-d-20-00046.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yamian Zhang ◽

Suzhen Yan ◽

Wenqing Wang ◽

Mao Wang

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Mangrove Ecosystem ◽

Tidal Cycles ◽

Tropical Estuarine

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Habitat selection and home-range dynamics of the Gaspé caribou: a hierarchical analysis

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z03-065 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 81 (7) ◽

pp. 1174-1184 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Arnaud Mosnier ◽

Jean-Pierre Ouellet ◽

Luc Sirois ◽

Nelson Fournier

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Habitat Use ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Large Diameter ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽

Management Plans ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Range Dynamics ◽

Snow Conditions

We used several spatial and temporal scales to determine space and habitat use of the caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) of the Gaspé Peninsula. Thirty-five radio-collared caribou were followed from November 1998 to April 2001. Habitat use was studied by superimposing radiolocations on ecoforestry maps using five predefined habitat types (deciduous, immature, mature spruce, mature fir, and barren). At a finer scale, we tracked caribou in forested areas during winter 2000 and 2001 in order to describe physical and biological characteristics of foraging tracks and used stands. Our results indicated that the distribution of caribou extended beyond the limits of Gaspé Conservation Park. Patterns of space use showed the existence of three groups, which formed a metapopulation. These groups consisted of spatially distinct units that used space and habitat differently. At the home-range level, caribou preferred barren areas found in alpine and subalpine zones at all times of the year. The most frequently used forested habitat type was the mature fir. At the finer scale of foraging tracks, caribou selected fir stands characterized by dense snow conditions and large diameter trees bearing greater quantities of lichen. Our results demonstrated the importance of protecting areas outside the park that are likely to become used or reused by caribou, and of managing these areas to increase settlement by caribou. Lastly, management plans must be adapted to each of the three groups forming this metapopulation.

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