Repeated, long-distance migrations by a philopatric predator targeting highly contrasting ecosystems

Long-distance movements of animals are an important driver of population spatial dynamics and determine the extent of overlap with area-focused human activities, such as fishing. Despite global concerns of declining shark populations, a major limitation in assessments of population trends or spatial management options is the lack of information on their long-term migratory behaviour. For a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, we show from individuals satellite-tracked for multiple years (up to 1101 days) that adult males undertake annually repeated, round-trip migrations of over 7,500 km in the northwest Atlantic. Notably, these migrations occurred between the highly disparate ecosystems…

• OF
  Ocean Foundation
• GH
  Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council
• FP
  Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

  Awards: SFRH/BD/68717/2010, PTDC/MAR/100345/2008, IF/01611/2013