Environmental stress reduces shark residency to coral reefs

dc.contributor.authorWilliamson, Michael J.en
dc.contributor.authorTebbs, Emma J.en
dc.contributor.authorCurnick, David J.en
dc.contributor.authorFerretti, Francescoen
dc.contributor.authorCarlisle, Aaron B.en
dc.contributor.authorChapple, Taylor K.en
dc.contributor.authorSchallert, Robert J.en
dc.contributor.authorTickler, David M.en
dc.contributor.authorBlock, Barbara A.en
dc.contributor.authorJacoby, David M. P.en
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-24T14:26:33Zen
dc.date.available2025-03-24T14:26:33Zen
dc.date.issued2024-09-09en
dc.description.abstractCoral reef ecosystems are highly threatened and can be extremely sensitive to the effects of climate change. Multiple shark species rely on coral reefs as important habitat and, as such, play a number of significant ecological roles in these ecosystems. How environmental stress impacts routine, site-attached reef shark behavior, remains relatively unexplored. Here, we combine 8 years of acoustic tracking data (2013-2020) from grey reef sharks resident to the remote coral reefs of the Chagos Archipelago in the Central Indian Ocean, with a satellite-based index of coral reef environmental stress exposure. We show that on average across the region, increased stress on the reefs significantly reduces grey reef shark residency, promoting more diffuse space use and increasing time away from shallow forereefs. Importantly, this impact has a lagged effect for up to 16 months. This may have important physiological and conservation consequences for reef sharks, as well as broader implications for reef ecosystem functioning. As climate change is predicted to increase environmental stress on coral reef ecosystems, understanding how site-attached predators respond to stress will be crucial for forecasting the functional significance of altering predator behavior and the potential impacts on conservation for both reef sharks and coral reefs themselves.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extent12 page(s)en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifierARTN 1018 (Article number)en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06707-3en
dc.identifier.eissn2399-3642en
dc.identifier.issn2399-3642en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.orcidFerretti, Francesco [0000-0001-9510-3552]en
dc.identifier.other10.1038/s42003-024-06707-3 (PII)en
dc.identifier.pmid39251811en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/125072en
dc.identifier.volume7en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNature Portfolioen
dc.relation.urihttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39251811en
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subject.meshAnimalsen
dc.subject.meshSharksen
dc.subject.meshConservation of Natural Resourcesen
dc.subject.meshEcosystemen
dc.subject.meshIndian Oceanen
dc.subject.meshStress, Physiologicalen
dc.subject.meshClimate Changeen
dc.subject.meshCoral Reefsen
dc.titleEnvironmental stress reduces shark residency to coral reefsen
dc.title.serialCommunications Biologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.otherArticleen
dc.type.otherJournalen
dcterms.dateAccepted2024-08-08en
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Techen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Natural Resources & Environmenten
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Natural Resources & Environment/Fish and Wildlife Conservationen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Natural Resources & Environment/CNRE T&R Facultyen

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