Residency, Habitat Use and Sexual Segregation of White Sharks, Carcharodon carcharias in False Bay, South Africa

摘要: White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are threatened apex predators and identification of their critical habitats how these used essential to ensuring improved local ultimately global white shark protection. In this study we investigated habitat use by in False Bay, South Africa, using acoustic telemetry. 56 (39 female, 17 male), ranging size from 1.7–5 m TL, were tagged with transmitters monitored on an array 30 receivers for 975 days. To investigate the effects season, sex a generalized linear mixed model. Tagged detected Bay all months across years, but varied significantly season shark. autumn winter males females aggregated around Cape fur seal colony at Seal Island, where they fed predominantly young year seals. spring summer there was marked sexual segregation, frequenting Inshore areas seldom being detected. The shift Island region mirrors seasonal peak abundance juvenile seals migratory teleost elasmobranch species respectively. This provides first evidence segregation fine spatial scale demonstrates that is not restricted adults, apparent juveniles sub-adults too. Overall, results confirm as area conservation both sexes, range sizes, frequent annual basis. finding female aggregate regions when recreational peaks highlights need ongoing shark-human conflict mitigation strategies.