Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Beulig, Alfred

Keywords

Great White Sharks, Migration, Animal Behavior, Marine Habitats

Area of Concentration

Marine Ecology

Abstract

The large-scale spatial dynamics and population structure of marine top predators are poorly known. Electronic tag and photographic identification data collected over a period of two years are presented showing a complex suite of behavioral patterns in 34 white sharks (21 female, 13 male), ranging in size from 2.5–5.1 m TL. To investigate the effects of season, sex, size, maturity of the shark and resources versus habitat use, distribution of sharks with respect to ocean current maps (cold vs. warm) and fish population maps were plotted. Data include coastal return migrations and offshore migrations, indicative that use of certain parts of the coast varied significantly with the season and the sex of the shark.

Share

COinS