Safety in the shallows: nearshore coastal habitats can provide physical and thermal features that optimize escape performance in newborn blacktip reef sharks (<i>Carcharhinus melanopterus</i>).

ABSTRACT: The prevailing shark nursery paradigm suggests that high survival in these habitats is primarily driven by reduced predator encounters: so-called pre-encounter risk. In this study, we propose an alternative or complementary mechanism: that some nurseries may lower post-encounter risk by providing environmental conditions that maximize escape performance. To test this hypothesis, we examined how temperature, depth and habitat complexity influence the escape performance of newborn blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in Mo'orea, French Polynesia. In a controlled setting, we exposed 48 newborn sharks to four temperature treatments (25, 27, 29 and 31°C) and measured fast-start acceleration, turning rate and latency to respond to a stimulus. We also calculated aerobic scope a

SUBMITTER: Trujillo JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12320776 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature