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A Global Perspective on the Trophic Geography of Sharks
Nature Ecology & Evolution
  • Christopher S. Bird, University of Southampton - United Kingdom
  • Ana Verissimo, CIBIO - Vairao, Portugal; College of William and Mary
  • Sarah Magozzi, University of Southampton - United Kingdom
  • Katya G. Abrantes, James Cook University - Cairns, Australia
  • Alex Aguilar, University of Barcelona - Spain
  • Hassan Al-Reasi, Sultan Qaboos University - Muscat, Oman
  • Adam Barnett, James Cook University - Cairns, Australia
  • Dana M. Bethea, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Gerard Biais, IFREMER - L'Houmeau, France
  • Asuncion Borrell, University of Barcelona - Spain
  • Marc Bouchoucha, IFREMER - La Seyne sur Mer, France
  • Mariah Boyle, FishWise
  • Edward J. Brooks, Cape Eleuthera Institute - Bahamas, United Kingdom
  • Juerg Brunnschweiler
  • Paco Bustamante, CNRS-Universite de La Rochelle - France
  • Aaron Carlisle, Stanford University
  • Diana Catarino, University of the Azores - Portugal
  • Stephane Caut, Consejo Superior de Investigationes Cientificas - Sevilla, Spain
  • Yves Cherel, CNRS-Universite de La Rochelle - France
  • Tiphaine Chouvelon, Laboratoire de Biogeochimie des Contaminants Metalliques - Nantes, France
  • Diana Churchill, Florida International University
  • Javier Ciancio, CESIMAR Centro Nacional Patagonico - Puerto Madryn, Argentina
  • Julien Claes, Universite Catholique de Louvain - Belgium
  • Ana Colaço, University of the Azores - Portugal
  • Dean L. Courtney, University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • Pierre Cresson, Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques de Boulogne - France
  • Ryan Daly, Port Elizabeth Museum at Bayworld - South Africa; Save Our Seas Foundation - Geneva, Switzerland
  • Leigh de Necker, University of Cape Town - South Africa
  • Tetsuya Endo, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido - Japan
  • Ivon Figueiredo, Departamento do Mar IPMA - Lisbon, Portugal
  • Ashley J. Frisch, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority - Australia
  • Joan Holst Hansen, Aarhus University - Denmark
  • Michael Heithaus, Florida International University
  • NIgel E. Hussey, University of Windsor - Canada
  • Johannes Iitembu, University of Namibia - Henties Bay
  • Francis Jaunes, University of Victoria - Canada
  • Michael J. Kinney, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Jeremy J. Kiszka, Florida International University
  • Sebastian A. Klarian, Universidad Andres Bello - Santiago, Chile
  • Dorothee Kopp, Laboratoire de Technologie et Biologie Halieutique - Lorient, France
  • Robert Leaf, University of Southern Mississippi
  • Yunkai Li, Shanghai Ocean University - China
  • Anne Lorrain, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement - New Caledonia, France
  • Daniel J. Madigan, Harvard University
  • Aleksandra Maljkovic, Simon Fraser University - Burnaby, Canada
  • Luis Malpica-Cruz, Simon Fraser University - Burnaby, Canada
  • Philip Matich, Florida International University; Sam Houston State University
  • Mark G. Meekan, University of Western Australia - Perth
  • Frederic Menard, Université de Toulon - France
  • Gui M. Menezes, University of the Azores - Portugal
  • Samantha E. M. Munroe, Griffith University - Nathan, Australia
  • Michael C. Newman, College of William and Mary
  • Yannis P. Papastamatiou, Florida International University; University of St. Andrews - United Kingdom
  • Heidi Pethybridge, CSIRO COeans and Atmosphere - Hobart, Australia
  • Jeffrey D. Plumlee, Texas A&M University
  • Carlos Polo-Silva, Universidad de bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano Marina - Colombia
  • Katie Quaeck-Davis, University of Southampton - United Kingdom
  • Vincent Raoult, University of Newcastle - Australia
  • Jonathan Reum, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Yassir Eden Torres-Rojas, Universidad Autonoma de Campeche - Mexico
  • David S. Shiffman, Simon Fraser University - Burnaby, Canada
  • Oliver N. Shipley, Stony Brook University
  • Conrad W. Speed, University of Western Australia - Perth
  • Michelle D. Staudinger, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Amy K. Teffer, University of Victoria - Canada
  • Alexander Tilley, WorldFish Timor-Leste - Dili
  • Maria Valls, Centre Oceanografic de les Balears - Palma, Spain
  • Jeremy Vaudo, Florida International University
  • Tak-Cheung Wai, City University of Hong Kong - Kowloon
  • R. J. David Wells, Texas A&M University
  • Alex S. J. Wyatt, The University of Tokyo - Japan
  • Andrew Yool, National Oceanography Centre Southampton - United Kingdom
  • Clive N. Trueman, University of Southampton - United Kingdom
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2018
Keywords
  • Ecosystem ecology,
  • Marine biology,
  • Stable isotope analysis
Abstract

Sharks are a diverse group of mobile predators that forage across varied spatial scales and have the potential to influence food web dynamics. The ecological consequences of recent declines in shark biomass may extend across broader geographic ranges if shark taxa display common behavioural traits. By tracking the original site of photosynthetic fixation of carbon atoms that were ultimately assimilated into muscle tissues of 5,394 sharks from 114 species, we identify globally consistent biogeographic traits in trophic interactions between sharks found in different habitats. We show that populations of shelf-dwelling sharks derive a substantial proportion of their carbon from regional pelagic sources, but contain individuals that forage within additional isotopically diverse local food webs, such as those supported by terrestrial plant sources, benthic production and macrophytes. In contrast, oceanic sharks seem to use carbon derived from between 30° and 50° of latitude. Global-scale compilations of stable isotope data combined with biogeochemical modelling generate hypotheses regarding animal behaviours that can be tested with other methodological approaches.

Comments

©2018 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.

Additional Comments
University of Southampton and NERC grant #: NE/L50161X/1; NERC Grant-in-Kind grant #: (LSMSF; EK267-03/16)
DOI
10.1038/s41559-017-0432-z
Citation Information
Christopher S. Bird, Ana Verissimo, Sarah Magozzi, Katya G. Abrantes, et al.. "A Global Perspective on the Trophic Geography of Sharks" Nature Ecology & Evolution Vol. 2 Iss. 2 (2018) p. 299 - 305 ISSN: 2397-334X
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeremy-vaudo/16/