Seasonal occurrence and individual variability of bull sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, in a marine reserve of the southwestern Gulf of California.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Studying how the bull sharks aggregate and how they can be driven by life history traits such as reproduction, prey availability, predator avoidance and social interaction in a National Park such as Cabo Pulmo, is key to understand and protect the species.

Methods

The occurrence variability of 32 bull sharks tracked with passive acoustic telemetry were investigated via a hierarchical logistic regression model, with inference conducted in a Bayesian framework, comparing sex, and their response to temperature and chlorophyll.

Results

Based on the fitted model, occurrence probability varied by sex and length. Juvenile females had the highest values, whereas adult males the lowest. A strong seasonality or day of the year was recorded, where sharks were generall

SUBMITTER: Lara-Lizardi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11102736 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature