Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Authors

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 UniversityFollow
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 Title

Nature Ecology & Evolution

ISSN

2397-334X

Publication Date

2-2018

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.

DOI

10.1038/s41559-017-0432-z

Volume

2

Issue

2

First Page

299

Last Page

305

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)

Peer Reviewed

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