Intraspecific variability in diet and implied foraging ranges of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, from signature fatty acid analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 554 ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Marcus ◽  
P Virtue ◽  
HR Pethybridge ◽  
MG Meekan ◽  
M Thums ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Fatty Acid Analysis ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Foraging Ranges

Intraspecific variability in diet and implied foraging ranges of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Marcus Zamora ◽  
Patti Virtue ◽  
Heidi R Pethybridge ◽  
Mark G Meekan ◽  
Michele Thums ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Foraging Ranges

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal patterns of nature-based tourism interactions with whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Anderson ◽  
Halina T. Kobryn ◽  
Brad M. Norman ◽  
Lars Bejder ◽  
Julian A. Tyne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Rhincodon Typus ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks

Distribution of zooplankton inferred from hydroacoustic backscatter data in coastal waters off Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven G. Wilson ◽  
Timothy Pauly ◽  
Mark G. Meekan
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Rhincodon Typus ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
The North ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Bubble Layer ◽  
Surface Bubble

Hydroacoustic surveys were used to examine zooplankton distributions in coastal waters off Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Surveys were timed to coincide with the seasonal aggregation of whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, and other large zooplanktivores in these waters. The surveys examined scattering features of lagoon/shelf fronts, a series of cross-shelf transects and waters surrounding whale sharks swimming at the surface. These suggested that lagoon waters flow intrusively into shelf waters at reef passages in a layered exchange. Cross-shelf transects identified three vertical scattering layers: a surface bubble layer; a near-surface minimum layer; and a bottom maximum layer. Regions of intense mixing of lagoon and shelf waters were detected seaward and to the north of reef passages. Integrated acoustic mean volume backscatter of the bottom maximum layer increased with depth and distance offshore. Large subsurface aggregations of unidentified fauna were detected beneath whale sharks in the same area that manta rays and surface schools of euphausiids were also observed.

Distribution and Abundance of Dugongs, Turtles, Dolphins and other Megafauna in Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Preen ◽  
H. Marsh ◽  
I. R. Lawler ◽  
R. I. T. Prince ◽  
R. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Large Population ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Shark Bay ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Exmouth Gulf ◽  
Marine Megafauna

Strip-transect aerial surveys of Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf were conducted during the winters of 1989 and 1994. These surveys were designed primarily to estimate the abundance and distribution of dugongs, although they also allowed sea turtles and dolphins, and, to a lesser extent, whales, manta rays and whale sharks to be surveyed. Shark Bay contains a large population of dugongs that is of international significance. Estimates of approximately 10000 dugongs resulted from both surveys. The density of dugongs is the highest recorded in Australia and the Middle East, where these surveys have been conducted. Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef are also important dugong habitats, each supporting in the order of 1000 dugongs. The estimated number of turtles in Shark Bay is comparable to the number in Exmouth Gulf plus Ningaloo Reef (7000–9000). The density of turtles in Ningaloo Reef and, to a lesser extent, Exmouth Gulf is exceptionally high compared with most other areas that have been surveyed by the same technique. Shark Bay supports a substantial population of bottlenose dolphins (2000–3000 minimum estimate). Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef were not significant habitats for dolphins during the winter surveys. Substantial numbers of whales (primarily humpbacks) and manta rays occur in northern and western Shark Bay in winter. Ningaloo Reef is an important area for whale sharks and manta rays in autumn and winter. The Shark Bay Marine Park excludes much of the winter habitats of the large vertebrate fauna of Shark Bay. In 1989 and 1994, more than half of all the dugongs were seen outside the Marine Park (57·4 and 50·7%, respectively). Approximately one-third to one-half of turtles and dolphins were seen outside the Marine Park (in 1989 and 1994 respectively: turtles, 43 and 27%; dolphins, 47 and 32%). Almost all the whales and most of the manta rays were seen outside the Marine Park. Expansion of the Shark Bay Marine Park, to bring it into alignment with the marine section of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, would facilitate the appropriate management of these populations. This would also simplify the State– Commonwealth collaboration necessary to meet the obligations of World Heritage listing. The coastal waters of Western Australia north of the surveyed area (over 6000 km of coastline) are relatively poorly known and surveys of their marine megafauna are required for wise planning and management.

Oceanographic and atmospheric phenomena influence the abundance of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 382 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Sleeman ◽  
M.G. Meekan ◽  
B.J. Fitzpatrick ◽  
C.R. Steinberg ◽  
R. Ancel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Atmospheric Phenomena

Seasonal occurrence, distribution and movements of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
JG Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Whale Shark ◽  
Gastropod Mollusc ◽  
Leeuwin Current ◽  
Mass Spawning ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Turbid Waters ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
North Western

Aerial surveys between 1989 and 1992 demonstrated that large numbers of whale sharks appear on Ningaloo Reef in north-western Australia during autumn, shortly after the coral has undergone mass spawning. This movement into the reef waters would allow whale sharks to capitalize on the increased production of zooplankton brought about as a result of this mass spawning of corals and other marine organisms. Sharks occupied mainly the relatively turbid waters on the reef front, where a northerly current prevailed, rather than the offshore, warmer waters of the southerly flowing Leeuwin Current. The sharks moved in to the reef front from offshore but, once inshore, the majority swam parallel to the reef. The maximum density in any sector of the reef at any one time was four sharks per km, recorded in May 1992. The longer the time since sharks first appeared on the reef, the greater was their tendency to aggregate in a particular region of the reef. Evidence is presented that indicates that whale shark numbers at the northern end of Ningaloo Reef declined during the latter half of the 1980s; this decline may be related to the massive destruction of coral by the gastropod mollusc Drupella cornus during this period.

scholarly journals Population size and structure of whale sharks Rhincodon typus at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 319 ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
MG Meekan ◽  
CJA Bradshaw ◽  
M Press ◽  
C McLean ◽  
A Richards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Rhincodon Typus ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Size And Structure

Whale sharks, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2017 ◽  
pp. 509-524
Author(s):  
Sarah Duffy ◽  
Roger A. Layton
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document