Shark shuffle: segregated co-occurrence of multiple dusky and sandbar lineages at a human-altered habitat in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

ABSTRACT: Requiem sharks (genus Carcharhinus) have previously been reported to form large aggregations around marine infrastructures in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. While this behaviour may offer fitness advantages at the individual level, the implications of extended residency at human-altered habitats for population persistence have yet to be assessed. In this work, we investigated the phylogeographic and demographic composition of sharks near a coal-fired power and desalination station in Israel. Our aim was to infer habitat use and the mechanisms underlying the aggregation behaviour, and to highlight potential conservation impacts. We sampled, measured, and released 70 individuals between 2016 and 2022 to assess genetic variability within the cytochrome C oxidase I (COI) region and to analyse

SUBMITTER: Bigal E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11358537 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature