Regional-scale migrations and habitat use of juvenile lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) in the US South Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: Resolving the geographic extent and timing of coastal shark migrations, as well as their environmental cues, is essential for refining shark management strategies in anticipation of increasing anthropogenic stressors to coastal ecosystems. We employed a regional-scale passive acoustic telemetry array encompassing 300 km of the east Florida coast to assess what factors influence site fidelity of juvenile lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) to an exposed coastal nursery at Cape Canaveral, and to document the timing and rate of their seasonal migrations. Movements of 54 juvenile lemon sharks were monitored for three years with individuals tracked for up to 751 days. While most sharks demonstrated site fidelity to the Cape Canaveral region December through February under typical winter water

SUBMITTER: Reyier EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3935833 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature