Movements of Galapagos Sharks (Carcharhinus galapagensis) in Eastern Tropical Pacific Waters off Central and South America

Abstract

Galapagos sharks (Carcharhinus galapagensis) are a large species belonging to the family Carcharhinidae, with poorly understood biology, especially along continental coastlines, which limits effective management of their populations. Here, we report preliminary findings of their movements along the Pacific Coast of Panama and Colombia, derived from satellite telemetry. Sharks were tracked for as long as 1.5 years, during which they moved extensively (~400 km along the Panama/Colombia coastline), with areas with high concentrations of detections that spanned the Panama/Colombia border. Sharks appeared to alter their movements during the diel cycle (more detections at night) and in relation to the wet/dry seasons (more detections during the dry season). Locations of shark detections were most commonly within 20 km of shore and in water less than 100 m deep, although detections were recorded hundreds of kilometers from shore in water thousands of meters deep. Galapagos sharks appear to move more extensively along continental coastlines compared to island locations, where most previous information about their movements and biology has been obtained.

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