Whale sharks target dense prey patches of sergestid shrimp off Tanzania

C. A. Rohner; A. J. Armstrong; S. J. Pierce; C. E. M. Prebble; Edgar F. Cagua; Jesse Cochran; Michael L. Berumen; A. J. Richardson

doi:10.1093/plankt/fbv010

Whale sharks target dense prey patches of sergestid shrimp off Tanzania

C. A. Rohner, A. J. Armstrong, S. J. Pierce, C. E. M. Prebble, Edgar F. Cagua, Jesse Cochran, Michael L. Berumen, A. J. Richardson

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75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Large planktivores require high-density prey patches to make feeding energetically viable. This is a major challenge for species living in tropical and subtropical seas, such as whale sharks Rhincodon typus. Here, we characterize zooplankton biomass, size structure and taxonomic composition from whale shark feeding events and background samples at Mafia Island, Tanzania. The majority of whale sharks were feeding (73%, 380 of 524 observations), with the most common behaviour being active surface feeding (87%). We used 20 samples collected from immediately adjacent to feeding sharks and an additional 202 background samples for comparison to show that plankton biomass was ∼10 times higher in patches where whale sharks were feeding (25 vs. 2.6 mg m-3). Taxonomic analyses of samples showed that the large sergestid Lucifer hanseni (∼10 mm) dominated while sharks were feeding, accounting for ∼50% of identified items, while copepods (

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	352-362
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of Plankton Research
Volume	37
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbv010
State	Published - Mar 17 2015

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https://repository.kaust.edu.sa/bitstream/10754/346997/1/J.%20Plankton%20Res.-2015-Rohner-plankt_fbv010.pdf

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title = "Whale sharks target dense prey patches of sergestid shrimp off Tanzania",

abstract = "Large planktivores require high-density prey patches to make feeding energetically viable. This is a major challenge for species living in tropical and subtropical seas, such as whale sharks Rhincodon typus. Here, we characterize zooplankton biomass, size structure and taxonomic composition from whale shark feeding events and background samples at Mafia Island, Tanzania. The majority of whale sharks were feeding (73%, 380 of 524 observations), with the most common behaviour being active surface feeding (87%). We used 20 samples collected from immediately adjacent to feeding sharks and an additional 202 background samples for comparison to show that plankton biomass was ∼10 times higher in patches where whale sharks were feeding (25 vs. 2.6 mg m-3). Taxonomic analyses of samples showed that the large sergestid Lucifer hanseni (∼10 mm) dominated while sharks were feeding, accounting for ∼50% of identified items, while copepods (",

author = "Rohner, {C. A.} and Armstrong, {A. J.} and Pierce, {S. J.} and Prebble, {C. E. M.} and Cagua, {Edgar F.} and Jesse Cochran and Berumen, {Michael L.} and Richardson, {A. J.}",

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AU - Rohner, C. A.

AU - Armstrong, A. J.

AU - Pierce, S. J.

AU - Prebble, C. E. M.

AU - Cagua, Edgar F.

AU - Cochran, Jesse

AU - Berumen, Michael L.

AU - Richardson, A. J.

N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01

PY - 2015/3/17

Y1 - 2015/3/17

N2 - Large planktivores require high-density prey patches to make feeding energetically viable. This is a major challenge for species living in tropical and subtropical seas, such as whale sharks Rhincodon typus. Here, we characterize zooplankton biomass, size structure and taxonomic composition from whale shark feeding events and background samples at Mafia Island, Tanzania. The majority of whale sharks were feeding (73%, 380 of 524 observations), with the most common behaviour being active surface feeding (87%). We used 20 samples collected from immediately adjacent to feeding sharks and an additional 202 background samples for comparison to show that plankton biomass was ∼10 times higher in patches where whale sharks were feeding (25 vs. 2.6 mg m-3). Taxonomic analyses of samples showed that the large sergestid Lucifer hanseni (∼10 mm) dominated while sharks were feeding, accounting for ∼50% of identified items, while copepods (

AB - Large planktivores require high-density prey patches to make feeding energetically viable. This is a major challenge for species living in tropical and subtropical seas, such as whale sharks Rhincodon typus. Here, we characterize zooplankton biomass, size structure and taxonomic composition from whale shark feeding events and background samples at Mafia Island, Tanzania. The majority of whale sharks were feeding (73%, 380 of 524 observations), with the most common behaviour being active surface feeding (87%). We used 20 samples collected from immediately adjacent to feeding sharks and an additional 202 background samples for comparison to show that plankton biomass was ∼10 times higher in patches where whale sharks were feeding (25 vs. 2.6 mg m-3). Taxonomic analyses of samples showed that the large sergestid Lucifer hanseni (∼10 mm) dominated while sharks were feeding, accounting for ∼50% of identified items, while copepods (

UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/346997

UR - http://www.plankt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/doi/10.1093/plankt/fbv010

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JF - Journal of Plankton Research

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ER -

Whale sharks target dense prey patches of sergestid shrimp off Tanzania

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