Fine-scale oceanographic drivers of reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) visitation patterns at a feeding aggregation site.

ABSTRACT: Globally, reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are in decline and are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and disturbance at aggregation sites. Here, passive acoustic telemetry and a suite of advanced oceanographic technologies were used for the first time to investigate the fine-scale (5-min) influence of oceanographic drivers on the visitation patterns of 19 tagged M. alfredi to a feeding aggregation site at Egmont Atoll in the Chagos Archipelago. Boosted regression trees indicate that tag detection probability increased with the intrusion of cold-water bores propagating up the atoll slope through the narrow lagoon inlet during flood tide, potentially transporting zooplankton from the thermocline. Tag detection probability also increased with warmer near-surface temperature

SUBMITTER: Harris JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8093739 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature