Diving behavior of the reef manta ray links coral reefs with adjacent deep pelagic habitats.

ABSTRACT: Recent successful efforts to increase protection for manta rays has highlighted the lack of basic ecological information, including vertical and horizontal movement patterns, available for these species. We deployed pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags on nine reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, to determine diving behaviors and vertical habitat use. Transmitted and archived data were obtained from seven tagged mantas over deployment periods of 102-188 days, including three recovered tags containing 2.6 million depth, temperature, and light level data points collected every 10 or 15 seconds. Mantas frequented the upper 10 m during daylight hours and tended to occupy deeper water throughout the night. Six of the seven individuals performed a cumulative 76 deep dives (>150 m) with one ind

SUBMITTER: Braun CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3916408 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature