Satellite Tracking and Site Fidelity of Short Ocean Sunfish, Mola ramsayi, in the Galapagos Islands

摘要: Ocean sunfishes, with their peculiar morphology, large size, and surface habits, are valuable assets in ecotourism destinations worldwide. This study investigates site fidelity long-range movements of short ocean sunfish, Mola ramsayi (Giglioli 1883), at Punta Vicente Roca (PVR) off Isabela Island the Galapagos Islands. Five individuals were tracked between 32 733 days using ultrasonic receivers transmitters. Two 5 also towed pop-off satellite tags. One travelled to equatorial front covering 2700 km 53 days, dive depths upper 360 m temperatures 9.2°C 22°C. During its westward travel, dives extended 1112 m (the deepest depth yet recorded for Molidae) into ranging 4.5°C 23.2°C. The remaining four demonstrated PVR detected 128–1361 times a total 3557 reports. Forty-eight percent reports occurred during daytime hours 52% after dark. Presumed cleaning session durations had median 15 minutes maximum nearly 100 minutes. No other arrays around or Eastern Pacific regional network presence tagged individuals. These data combined tourist vessel sightings submersible observations confirm as an important sunfish hotspot.