Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks
Global marine biodiversity declines require bold and ambitious plans to safeguard ecosystem services. Overfishing, habitat loss and projected climate impacts have yielded deleterious effects on marine predators, in particular, driving increasing threat of extinction for many shark species with impli...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1443357/full |
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| author | Neil D. Cook Abbie Jenkins Sarah L. Perry Sarah E. Perkins Jo Cable |
| author_facet | Neil D. Cook Abbie Jenkins Sarah L. Perry Sarah E. Perkins Jo Cable |
| author_sort | Neil D. Cook |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global marine biodiversity declines require bold and ambitious plans to safeguard ecosystem services. Overfishing, habitat loss and projected climate impacts have yielded deleterious effects on marine predators, in particular, driving increasing threat of extinction for many shark species with implications for ecosystem health. Identifying and protecting critical habitat areas for sharks is fundamental to their protection, and may allow for species recovery. Here we use baited remote underwater video stations to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use by sharks in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) that is centrally important to the regional blue economy in the UK, the Cardigan Bay SAC. Our results show heterogeneous spatial habitat use and temporal trends in habitat sharing between smallspotted catsharks Scyliorhinus canicula and nursehounds S. stellaris. Nearshore reef habitats are substantially more important than non-reef habitats for both species. The relative abundance of each species, however, is roughly inversely seasonally proportional, with S. canicula and S. stellaris relative abundance highest in March and September, respectively. Temporal niche partitioning may be an important mechanism in marine systems, but has not been widely investigated in sympatric shark communities. These findings are directly relevant for ongoing development of the Welsh Marine Evidence Strategy (2019-2025) and the Welsh National Marine Plan, particularly to inform spatial planning to strengthen the role of SAC management design in protecting important shark areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b7a32ed83282409d82f486493275ca4e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-b7a32ed83282409d82f486493275ca4e2025-08-20T01:53:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452024-10-011110.3389/fmars.2024.14433571443357Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharksNeil D. Cook0Abbie Jenkins1Sarah L. Perry2Sarah E. Perkins3Jo Cable4School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomCardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, New Quay, United KingdomSchool of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomGlobal marine biodiversity declines require bold and ambitious plans to safeguard ecosystem services. Overfishing, habitat loss and projected climate impacts have yielded deleterious effects on marine predators, in particular, driving increasing threat of extinction for many shark species with implications for ecosystem health. Identifying and protecting critical habitat areas for sharks is fundamental to their protection, and may allow for species recovery. Here we use baited remote underwater video stations to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use by sharks in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) that is centrally important to the regional blue economy in the UK, the Cardigan Bay SAC. Our results show heterogeneous spatial habitat use and temporal trends in habitat sharing between smallspotted catsharks Scyliorhinus canicula and nursehounds S. stellaris. Nearshore reef habitats are substantially more important than non-reef habitats for both species. The relative abundance of each species, however, is roughly inversely seasonally proportional, with S. canicula and S. stellaris relative abundance highest in March and September, respectively. Temporal niche partitioning may be an important mechanism in marine systems, but has not been widely investigated in sympatric shark communities. These findings are directly relevant for ongoing development of the Welsh Marine Evidence Strategy (2019-2025) and the Welsh National Marine Plan, particularly to inform spatial planning to strengthen the role of SAC management design in protecting important shark areas.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1443357/fullCardigan bayelasmobranchmarine protected areamarine spatial planningNortheast AtlanticScyliorhinidae |
| spellingShingle | Neil D. Cook Abbie Jenkins Sarah L. Perry Sarah E. Perkins Jo Cable Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks Frontiers in Marine Science Cardigan bay elasmobranch marine protected area marine spatial planning Northeast Atlantic Scyliorhinidae |
| title | Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks |
| title_full | Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks |
| title_fullStr | Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks |
| title_short | Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks |
| title_sort | temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks |
| topic | Cardigan bay elasmobranch marine protected area marine spatial planning Northeast Atlantic Scyliorhinidae |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1443357/full |
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