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Habitat use of the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, off Recife, Northeast Brazil: a combined survey with longline and acoustic telemetry

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Abstract

The nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, is an abundant coastal species widely distributed on both sides of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean. Despite being an endangered species in Brazil, information on bio-ecological aspects of this species is still very scarce. This study investigates seasonal fluctuations in abundance, sex ratio and residency of nurse sharks in coastal waters off Recife, northeastern Brazil. Total length of the specimens caught ranged from 107 to 300 cm. Sex ratio for nurse sharks was 1.31♀:1♂ but it showed a strong variation throughout the year. About 8% of tagged sharks were recaptured after an average of 248 days at liberty, at distances between 0.04 and 6.23 km from the tagging site. A growth rate of 15.77 ± 2.53 cm/yr was obtained from total length data collected from three recaptured specimens. Nurse sharks demonstrated some signs of affinity for temperatures between 25º and 30°C and salinities between 34 and 37. The combined analysis of longline and telemetry data indicated possible differences in habitat usage between sexes of nurse sharks off Recife.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the State Government of Pernambuco. The authors would like to acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for providing a scholarship to L. C. Ferreira and Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade for providing the permits number 15083 and 21341 for scientific activities. The authors are also thankful to the crew of the R.V. Sinuelo and R.V. Pedrinho and to all interns from the Laboratório de Tecnologia Pesqueira (LATEP-UFRPE) for assisting with field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Pesca e Aqüicultura, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, 52.171-030, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Luciana C. Ferreira, André S. Afonso, Pedro C. Castilho & Fábio H. V. Hazin

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Oceanografia, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida da Arquitetura s/n, 52.740-550, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Luciana C. Ferreira

  3. Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    André S. Afonso

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  1. Luciana C. Ferreira
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  2. André S. Afonso
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  3. Pedro C. Castilho
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  4. Fábio H. V. Hazin
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Correspondence to Luciana C. Ferreira.

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Ferreira, L.C., Afonso, A.S., Castilho, P.C. et al. Habitat use of the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, off Recife, Northeast Brazil: a combined survey with longline and acoustic telemetry. Environ Biol Fish 96, 735–745 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0067-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0067-5

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