Whale Sharks Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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- Marine Biology, Zoology, Geography, Species Distribution Models

Provisioning of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) for tourism at Oslob in the Philippines is a controversial issue. Recent studies that claim negative impacts of this industry on the ecology of whale sharks are characterised by a lack of baselines, limited methodological approaches and poor interpretation of results. They do not provide robust evidence for management or for advocacy that seeks to prevent provisioning. Furthermore, these studies cannot be used to draw conclusions about the ethics of tourists visiting Oslob or the motivations of the local people running the tourism operation.

Pariwisata berbasis masyarakat (CBT) merupakan bentuk pemberdayaan yang memberikan peluang masyarakat setempat untuk terlibat dalam pengembangan pariwisata. Tujuan CBT adalah untuk mendukung alternatif matapencaharian berkelanjutan di samping melestarikan tradisi dan perlindungan alam. Berdasarkan temuan pemantauan hiu paus dari Conservation International Indonesia di Teluk Saleh, sejak 2018 masyarakat Desa Labuhan Jambu memanfaatkan konservasi spesies hiu paus untuk pariwisata berbasis masayarakat. Masyarakat setempat terlibat dalam setiap tahapan kegiatan pengelolaan perlindungan, pelestarian, dan pemanfaatan hiu paus. Masyarakat Desa Labuhan Jambu menyediakan barang dan jasa kepada wisatawan hiu paus di bawah pengelolaan Badan Usaha Milik Desa (BUMDES), antara lain persewaan mobil, persewaan perahu, persewaan perlengkapan snorkeling, homestay, jasa operator tur, jasa pemandu wisata, makan minum, dan produk suvenir. Studi yang dilakukan di Desa Labuhan Jambu ini melibatkan 62 masyarakat lokal yang berpartisipasi dalam wisata hiu paus berbasis masyarakat yang dilakukan pada tahun 2019. Data kuantitatif dianalisis dengan menggunakan statistik deskriptif. Hasil penelitian ini mengidentifikasi sejumlah peluang meliputi tambahan pemasukan dari usaha jasa yang disediakan dan lapangan kerja baru, peningkatan kapasitas, mendorong usaha kecil, pemberdayaan perempuan, masyarakat sebagai citizen scientist melakukan monitoring dan pelepasan hiu paus dalam jaring, dan membangun pemahaman lintas budaya antara tuan rumah dan wisatawan melalui tradisi serta nilai lokal untuk bertukar pengalaman. Tantangan utama CBT yang teridentifikasi dari model pengembangan wisata ini antara lain nepotisme, adanya wisataan hiu paus yang datang secara illegal (tanpa melalui pengelola), pembayaran yang tidak sesuai kesepakatan, penyewaan yang melebihi waktu, dan sulitnya mengatur operator wisata. Dalam studi ini kami berkesimpulan bahwa ada sepuluh faktor kunci keberhasilan CBT di Desa Labuhan Jambu yaitu: partisipasi semua pihak pemangku kepentingan, kepemimpinan dan champion lokal yang kuat, pembangunan kapasitas masyarakat, pengelolaan bersama, kemitraan, transparansi, memegang teguh nilai sosial budaya lokal, pemberdayaan perempuan, komunikasi yang efektif, dan kebijakan.

- by Maulita S Hani
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- Fisheries Management, Sustainable Tourism, Community Based Tourism, Whale Sharks

Interaction between an animal and its habitat is one of the crucial factors in the evolution process. In aquatic environments, marine species have developed some unique morphological features with hydrodynamic consequences to overcome necessity of life over the course of million years. In this paper, hydrodynamic effects of the longitudinal-dorsal ridges covering the upper-lateral sides of whale shark's body as a prominent eidonomic characteristic of these species are studied with the aid of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this regard, flow physics of the problem is numerically simulated at high Reynolds number, i.e. 1.4*10^7 corresponding to the swimming of a 10 meter-whale shark at its average speed, i.e. 5km / h, using Lam-Bremhorst turbulence model. The results indicate that presence of the longitudinal ridges leads to formation of streamwise vortices which delays flow separation on the body and modifies hydrodynamic characteristics of the whale shark swimming. At sideslip angles, flow simulation results show that the ridges noticeably contribute to the 'sinking feeling' of the animal. Furthermore, spectral analysis of the unsteady simulation results in start-up phase of the whale shark's tail beating in a quiescent flow environment depict that these morphological features uniformize energy content of the vortical structures originating from the tail/caudal peduncle (not caudal fin) via suppressing of its energy peaks.

- by Arash Taheri
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- Zoology, Ichthyology, Numerical Simulations, Fluid Mechanics

This paper contains a collection of 803 citations (no conference abstracts) on topics related to extant and extinct Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) as well as a list of Chondrichthyan species and hosted parasites newly described in 2016. The list is the result of regular queries in numerous journals, books and online publications. It provides a complete list of publication citations as well as a database report containing rearranged subsets of the list sorted by the keyword statistics, extant and extinct genera and species descriptions from the years 2000 to 2016, list of descriptions of extinct and extant species from 2016, parasitology, reproduction, distribution, diet, conservation, and taxonomy. The paper is intended to be consulted for information. In addition, we provide information on the geographic and depth distribution of newly described species, i.e. the type specimens from the year 1990- 2016 in a hot spot analysis.
Please note that the content of this paper has been compiled to the best of our abilities based on current knowledge and practice, however, possible errors cannot entirely be excluded.

- by Jürgen Pollerspöck and +1
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- Great white shark, Fossil Fish, Chondrichthyes, Shark conservation

Botubarani in Gorontalo, on the northern coast of Tomini Bay and Labuhan Jambu in Teluk Saleh, Sumbawa recently became whale shark tourism destinations in Indonesia. Both sites offer visitors opportunities to interact with whale sharks, either watching from canoes or snorkelling and diving. In this study, we investigated the status and ecotourism potential of whale shark watching as a form of marine wildlife tourism development in eastern Indonesia by examining the existing operations in both sites. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to local community members and visitors to understand their perceptions, and how this opportunity was valued. Secondary data were collected to explore and understand influencing factors. Findings revealed that whale sharks commonly emerge near bagan lift-nets and other interactive areas as a response to the presence of their favorite prey, anchovies, and rebon shrimp. In general, whale sharks most commonly visit bagan lift nets and can be found in the interaction areas in the morning and stay for couple of hours before swimming away to deeper waters. Out of 119 community respondents in Labuhan Jambu village (Teluk Saleh) and Botubarani, Gorontalo, 80.7% knew about the occurrence of whale sharks in their locality. Of the 111 visitor respondents, 67.6% knew about the whale shark watching sites from word of mouth. The study results also suggest a correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration, anchovies, rebon shrimp and whale sharks. Regarding management approaches to this type of tourism, a local community-based management model is strongly recommended, with 87.4% of respondents showing interest in this approach. The roles and responsibility of local government in developing such tourism is very significant, especially with respect to facilitating appropriate competency within the local community throughout training and education, as suggested by nearly 26% of respondents.

- by Maulita S Hani and +1
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- Sustainable Tourism, Community Based Tourism, Whale Sharks

The present study was based on sighting of whale shark, Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828 on 13 th and 14 th October 2016 incidentally in oceanic waters of Bay of Bengal at a depth of 3340 and 3270 m. These two sightings were thus confirmed by photographs. Whale sharks were reported in the coastal and near shore regions of India by many of the researchers and this is the first observation of R. typus in oceanic waters of east coast of India.

- by Babu Fsi
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- Whale Sharks, Longline Fishery

The study was conducted to identify sex and size range composition of whale shark individuals from sightings and their appearance behavior in Cenderawasih Bay National Park, Indonesia. A total of 74 fishermen lift-nets 'bagans' in Sowa, Kwatisore, and Yaur areas from March to June 2013 were visited to document date, time, location, sex, size range, and number of whale sharks seen each day. Photographic identification was used as a non-invasive means to describe the population throughout the study period. Shark sizes were estimated using a diver body as reference length. A total of 134 whale sharks sightings was recorded within study areas. The highest frequency appearance of whale shark was within Sowa region with 76 sightings, followed by 51 sightings in Kwatisore region, and 7 sightings in Yaur region. From 37 whale sharks identified individual observed in Cenderawasih Bay, there were 36 individuals were identified as male and one as female with a size range of 3-7 meter, dominated by individual with size under 4 meter. From all the observed whale sharks, 44.44% were found not having any scars on their body, but some were having scars on their fins and mouth. Whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay National Park can be seen moving around in water surface near the lift-net as their feeding behaviour. The fishermen activities might also have an impact on this behaviour, as the fishermen catching activities might drive whale sharks to move to the surface. The large percentage of juveniles recorded in this Cenderawasih Bay National Park population suggests that the area serves as an important habitat for young whale sharks.

- by Mahardika Himawan
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- Marine Biology, Fisheries, Marine Megafauna, Indonesia

Bahía de los Ángeles is located on the Baja Californian coast of the Gulf of California, adjacent to Ballenas Channel. The bay
receives a dynamic tidal influence from the channel but is protected by numerous islands. It is a highly productive bay that harbors a high
diversity of species, some of them protected such as the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). This study describes the seasonal variability of major
zooplankton taxa and copepod and cladoceran species between May 2003 and October 2004. Copepods were dominant during winter and
spring (83–99% of the zooplankton abundance), experiencing a dramatic decrease in autumn 2003 (37–66%) and summer 2004 (25–45%).
Cladocerans were the second most abundant group, represented by Pseudevadne tergestina and Penilia avirostris. The former species occurred
year-round with low abundance in winter, whereas the latter occurred only in summer and autumn. Other holozooplankton taxa contributed
with less than 15% of the abundance in most of the samples, while merozooplankton contributed less than 8%, though in October of 2003 and
2004 there was a remarkable abundance of echinoderms and other larvae contrasting with their shortage in other seasons. In winter 2004,
temperate-subtropical copepod species dominated, such as Calanus pacificus and Acartia tonsa. The high abundance of copepods during spring
obeyed to Acartia clausi (median = 28,034 ind m–3); however, the maximal zooplankton abundance (40,468 ind m–3, 99.5% copepods) came
from a sample collected south of Punta Arena, where two whale sharks were observed foraging. The shift in species composition during
summer coincides with the predominance of easterly winds described in the literature inducing a reversed circulation and a probable transport
of tropical species into the bay during summer and autumn (Centropages furcatus, Subeucalanus subcrassus, Acrocalanus longicornis, Temora
discaudata, and Corycaeus amazonicus).

- by Paloma Ladrón de Guevara P.
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- Zooplankton ecology, Whale Sharks

Whale shark tourism offer potential benefits to support economic alternative livelihood. Since 2017, Conservation International Indonesia worked in Sumbawa to monitor whale shark distribution and identified species aggregation in Teluk Saleh. We conducted a survey on May 23th-27th, 2018 and involved 86 local community from five hamlets in Labuan Jambu village. Furthermore, forum group discussion (FGD) held with 20 village representative on July 30th, 2018. The result of frequency distribution demonstrated 95% of respondents show positive perceptions towards sustainable development of whale shark tourism with 40% willing to participate in boat rental services. The community also proposes to participate in providing other tourism services including the local guide (12%), food and beverage or F&B (8%), local transport (8%), and homestay (6%). 34% of respondents agreed to establish a new institution (under village officials) to coordinate tourism services provided by the local community. We also conducted participatory mapping with 15 key informants where the result confirmed 13 areas of whale shark aggregation with all-year-round sightings. The FGD results in 20 participants ready to start the pilot project of community-based whale shark tourism in August 2018, including 4 boat rental (3 speedboats and 1 floating cage boat), 6 homestays, 4 car rentals, 1 F&B, 1 gear rental, 2 guides, and 2 local products. In addition, we facilitate village official in establishing policy and regulations for whale shark conservation and sustainable community-based tourism through village regulation, code of conduct, best practices, and capacity building program.

- by Maulita S Hani and +5
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- Ecotourism, Tourism Planning and Policy, Community Engagement & Participation, Community Development
- by Gisela Heckel
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- Plankton, Copepods, Whale Sharks, Bahia de los Angeles
- by Primo Micarelli
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- Shark, Great white shark, Sharks, Whale Sharks
- by Ana Hacohen Domene and +2
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- Marine Biology, Species Distribution Models, Sharks, Whale Sharks

Abstract Alternative livelihood projects are criticised as having minimal effect on biodiversity conservation. Studies are rare and where success is claimed, outcomes and reasons why projects work, have not been documented. Livelihoods are an essential element of sustainable integrated coastal management, an accepted framework for conserving coral reefs and marine resources in the tropics. It is not known whether alternative livelihood projects contribute to the goal of improving biodiversity conservation through sustainable integrated coastal management. Here, we examine Oslob Whale Sharks, an alternate livelihoods project in the Philippines built on provisioning whale sharks for community based dive tourism. We investigate how Oslob Whale Sharks contributes to sustainable integrated coastal management and whether it has any effect on biodiversity conservation. Using key stakeholder interviews with artisanal fishers, their community, local politicians and government, we found that Oslob Whale Sharks contributes to all nine factors required for sustainable integrated coastal management. Fishers and local authorities report their perception that whale sharks are protected from poaching and finning and destructive fishing has decreased, while fish abundance, pelagic fish species and catch have increased. Our findings further suggest that as there is little evidence that this type of tourism has any negative impacts on the biology or behaviour of whale sharks, Oslob Whale Sharks provides sustainable livelihoods and a delivery mechanism for sustainable integrated coastal management.

1. Shark-based tourism continues to be a rapidly growing industry, and thus understanding the impacts of such activities is essential to mitigate the potential negative effects on the target species. The consequences of provisioning on whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are not fully understood, although changes to the local environment, ecology, behaviour, and site visitation patterns have been highlighted. Here, the scarring patterns of whale sharks were investigated at a provisioning site in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines, as an indicator of the physical impacts of tourism activities on individual sharks. Photographic identification was used to attribute scars to individual animals (n = 152) between March 31, 2012 and January 31, 2015.
2. Scars were categorized by type and body location, and were compared with non- provisioned aggregations in Australia, Mozambique, and Seychelles. Oslob whale sharks were more scarred than other studied populations, with 94.7% (n = 144) having at least one scar, and with 90.8% (n = 138) having more than one scar. Scarring incidence was found to be significantly higher in sharks that regularly visited the provisioning site, and analysis of scarring over time in highly resident sharks showed that all individuals gained scars through periods of consistent re- sightings. A significantly higher incidence of minor scar types was found, most commonly on the dorsal side of the animal, probably resulting from sustained proximity to boats and ropes throughout the provisioning activities. The consequences of interactions with propeller boats were observed, despite a ban on their use in the provisioning site, highlighting the risk to the species beyond the study site.
3. We recommend the strict enforcement of a minimum distance between boats and sharks, a zero-contact policy during interactions, the expansion of the provision- ing site, and the implementation of a no-boat-access zone around the perimeter of the provisioning site to mitigate potential collisions.

- by Luke Penketh
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- Tourism, Whale Sharks, Provisioning, Sustainable/Responsible Tourism
- by Jamaludin Jompa
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- Geography, Sustainable Tourism, Community Based Tourism, Whale Sharks

Top-predators may be extremely vulnerable to environmental contaminants, such as organochlorines (OCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mostly because of their position in the trophic web. In this study, the use of skin biopsy is proposed as a sensitive non-lethal technique for the toxicological assessment of white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) living off the South African coasts. In 2012, 15 specimens of great white shark were sampled in the waters off Dyer Island and Geyser Rock. Then OCs and PAHs were extracted from muscle and biomarkers techniques for the evaluation of the cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A), Vitellogenin (Vtg) and Zona Radiata Proteins (Zrp) in the skin have been developed for the first time. The results showed levels of OCs higher than those found in the literature, ranging in ng/g dry weight (d.w.) from 6.80 to 21.26 for hexachlorobenzene (HCB), from 86.72 to 1416.97 for DDTs and from 379.76 to 11284.31 for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Furthermore, the values of both pp'DDE/pp'DDT and pp'DDE/DDTs ratios suggest a recent DDT introduction in the environment, probably related to its use against malaria during the period 2000-2005 in KwaZulu-Natal. However, PAHs showed the highest levels, almost double compared to OCs, almost certainly due to the big oil traffic present in South Africa. Regarding biomarkers results, important responses for CYP1A have been highlighted, possibly due to a contamination by planar compounds such as PAHs. Finally, the preliminary results of Vtg and Zrp, biomarkers of estrogenic effects, showed the presence of these proteins in sexually immature females and males.

- by Primo Micarelli
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- Great white shark, Shark conservation, Fossil sharks, Shark Biology

The zooplanktivorous whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is the largest living chondrichthyan and a cosmopolitan species, living in tropical, warm and temperate waters. It is considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and is known for big aggregations in
many parts of the world. These are associated with particular oceanographic features where primary productivity
is thought to be high. For the first time, four whale shark feeding aggregations are documented in Golfo Dulce,
Costa Rica, a tropical fjord-like embayment located in the south Pacific region of the country. Observations
were made in January and August 2009, March 2012 and in January 2013, Estimated group structure and size
remained constant over time with an equal proportion of adults and juveniles in the same area. These aggregations
were observed on the north-western coast of Golfo Dulce’s inner basin, close to the Rincón and Tigre
rivers. These two rivers are known to provide organic material which area important nutrients for the gulf zooplanktonic
communities. During one of the observed feeding aggregations, copepods (Order: Calanoida) were
seen in the water close to feeding individuals. Given the vulnerability of whale sharks, management decisions
for Golfo Dulce need to include strategies to control tourism, boat circulation, commercial and sports fisheries
and coastal development.

- by Christine Figgener
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- Marine Biology, Ichthyology, Conservation Biology, Costa Rica
- by Bertha Lavaniegos
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- Whale Sharks, Ciencias Marinas, Bahia de los Angeles
- by Victor Peddemors
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- Sharks, Aerial Survey, Whale Sharks

The golden cownose ray (Rhinoptera steindachneri) and the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) are two elasmobranch species commonly found in Bahía de La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. There are no records of the species sharing the same sites, as their prey, ecology and migration sites normally deviate. Both are listed as endangered and vulnerable species, respectively, under Mexican and international regulations. We took images by a quad-copter near Mogote Beach and recorded whale sharks during late July, alongside a group of golden cownose rays, although earlier research suggests that the main whale shark feeding season starts in late August or September. These recordings showed for the first time, the co-occurrence of these two vulnerable elasmobranch species while feeding possibly simultaneously. This indicates that there might be a relation between the presence of the two species and the interannual variability in zooplankton abundance. The latter may have implications for possible resource overlapping, a current topic in elasmobranch research. Furthermore, these findings highlight the usefulness of drones when capturing biological data. This information is important in the understanding of the ecology and trophic interactions of threatened species and is a step forward towards their understanding and conservation.

- by Martin G Frixione
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- Elasmobranchs, Whale Sharks, Drones, Rays
- by David Rowat
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- Whale Sharks

It is notable that the rejoinder of Zeigler et al. does not dispute any
of our points about the quality of the science they cite in their study.
Instead, they choose to “double-down” by raising yet more unsubstantiated
claims about, amongst other things, negative impacts on
whale shark health of poor water quality and rubbish discarded by
tourists.
The “exhaustive review” of Zeigler et al. (2018) fails to make any
detailed critique of provisioning research and only repeats the same
inappropriate conclusions of these studies. Their rejoinder ignores
other, more parsimonious explanations that contradict the findings of
this work and invokes the “precautionary principal”. However, there
is no point in applying this principal if the outcomes of future studies
are predetermined by the viewpoints of researchers. Zeigler et al. note
that their focus was on “reporting tourist perspectives” of shark
tourism at Oslob. We contend that for this goal to be useful and relevant to the research field, it cannot ignore the poor quality of the
science and one-sided advocacy on which these perspectives are
based.

Background The composition of sex and size of a population is important for management and conservation of marine organisms, including high mobility and global species such as the whale shark, Rhincodon typus. The presence of fish in lift nets in some Indonesian waters attracts feeding whale sharks. The objective of our study was to compare the sex, size and behaviour of whale sharks associated with lift nets in Cenderawasih Bay, Papua and Talisayan, East Kalimantan. Approach Data sampling was conducted for 52 days during April–June 2013 in Teluk Cenderawasih National Park, Papua and 60 days during August–October 2015 in Talisayan, East Kalimantan. Daily monitoring was carried out at lift nets located within the study area. Individual identification was conducted with photographic identification, sex determination was done through visual observation of the presence of reproductive organs, and size measurement was done by comparing the shark length with the observer's height. Analysis of the fish catch was obtained by interviewing fishermen, and observation from the lift net was conducted to support the data. Result A total of 134 observations and 81 observations were recorded in Cenderawasih Bay (57 lift nets) and in Talisayan (43 lift nets), respectively. A total of 37 different whale shark individuals were identified in Cenderawasih Bay, and 30 different individuals were identified in Talisayan. More than 50% of the whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay, and 80% in Talisayan, had scars on their bodies. In Cenderawasih Bay, scars were spread across the body: 20% of the scars were found on the fins, 20% on the main body including the gills, and 15.6% near the mouth area. In Talisayan, 70.6 % of the scars were found on the fins, 2.9% in the main body including the gills, and 17.6% near the mouth area. The scars result primarily from friction with fishing nets. The whale shark aggregations in Cenderawasih Bay and Talisayan were dominated by juvenile males. From a total of 37 individuals, only one female was found in Cenderawasih Bay, and from a total of 30 individuals, only two females were found in Talisayan. The dominant size of whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay was in the range from 3–3.9 m total length, with the largest animals in the range of 6–6.9 m. In Talisayan, the dominant size range was 4–4.9 m total length, with the largest animals in the range of 6–6.9 m. The high abundance of smaller fishes that are caught in Cenderawasih Bay and Talisayan by lift nets could attract whale sharks to the area. The largest number of whale sharks seen in Cenderawasih Bay was 14 individuals

- by Mahardika Himawan
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- Fisheries, Sharks, Whale Sharks
- by Molly Grace
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- Whale Sharks
- by Molly Grace
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- Whale Sharks

This collection is the result of research in numerous journals, books and online publications. It contains 721 citations of papers about living/fossil sharks, rays and chimaeras (Chondrichtyes: Elasmobranchii, Holocephali) and a list of... more

- by Jürgen Pollerspöck
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- Parasitology, Fossil Elasmobranchii, Great white shark, Fossil Fish

Background In Probolinggo coastal waters, part of the Madura Strait, the appearance of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) is a common sight especially during late December to March. The aggregation of these large vertebrates in this area have become highly attractive for local coastal tourism. Yet there has been limited scientific information regarding their population, from which better conservation management might result. The present study partly dealt with an exploration of whale shark habitat conditions at their arrival in this region. Approach Twelve days of whale shark sightings were made on board a wooden fishing boat (8 m length), coupled with weather data based on Beaufort's scale and plankton sampling at the time of shark surfacing. Observations were performed from early morning to late afternoon (7 am to 4 pm). The animals were counted and their length estimated by placing the boat and a whale shark in parallel positions. Zooplankton was sampled by filtering 100 L seawater using a 250 µm mesh-size plankton net. Site marking was done at each sight using GPS. The combination of primary data and secondary supporting information was combined to understand why whale sharks are present in the area. Results There were 72 individual whale sharks recorded during 12 d of observation, of which 94% appeared between morning to late morning. The highest number of sharks was found on day 6 with 14 individuals. Shark size ranged between 2 – 8 m, with most animals between 3 – 6 m, indicating the population might by dominated by immature individuals. During observation, there was no preferred temperature for whale shark sightings, with temperatures ranging between 28.5 – 30.0°C. Instead, whale shark presence coincided with relatively calm weather (1 – 3 Beauforts' scale). Whale sharks were absent on days 3, 7, and 12, when weather conditions were between 4 – 5 Beauforts' scale. The sharks swim as close as 1 nm to shore, in 5 – 10 m water depths. Among potential food items, there were 5 dominating zooplankton groups, i.e. crustaceans, sagittoideans, urochordatans, hydrozoans, and scyphozoans. In addition, fish eggs and larvae were also found. Regarding crustaceans, the copepods were the dominant group, especially genera Lucifer, Mysis, Sergia, and nauplii larvae forms. Conclusion The aggregation of whale sharks in Madura Strait is likely feeding-based in this area where wind-driven oceanographic conditions cause food to be in high abundance. Research on ID-based population structure of this whale shark aggregation is required.

- by Yusli Wardiatno
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- Marine Biology, Conservation Biology, Conservation, Marine Ecology
- by addisu assefa
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- Geography, Sustainable Tourism, Community Based Tourism, Whale Sharks
- by Maulita S Hani
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- Geography, Sustainable Tourism, Community Based Tourism, Whale Sharks

Whale shark, Rhincodon typus (Orectolobifoms: Rhincodontidae) feeding aggregations in Golfo Dulce, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. The zooplanktivorous whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is the largest living chondrichthyan and a cosmopolitan species, living in tropical, warm and temperate waters. It is considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and is known for big aggregations in many parts of the world. These are associated with particular oceanographic features where primary productivity is thought to be high. For the first time, four whale shark feeding aggregations are documented in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, a tropical fjord-like embayment located in the south Pacific region of the country. structure and size remained constant over time with an equal proportion of adults and juveniles in the same area. These aggrega-tions were observed on the northwestern coast of Golfo Dulce's inner basin, close to the Rincón and Tigre rivers. These two rive...

- by Juan Diego Pacheco-Polanco
- •
- Marine Biology, Ichthyology, Conservation Biology, Costa Rica

- by Yusli Wardiatno and +1
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- Marine Biology, Conservation Biology, Conservation, Marine Ecology
- by Camrin Braun
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- Oceanography, Marine Ecology, Biological Oceanography, Telemetry