Deep dives are performed by a range of marine megafauna, yet their function remains poorly understood. Proposed functions include foraging, predator avoidance, and navigation, but limited fine-scale data have hindered rigorous testing of these hypotheses. Here, depth time-series data from eight recovered and 16 non-recovered satellite tags deployed on oceanic manta rays ( Mobula birostris ) in Indonesia, Peru, and New Zealand...

Operant keypress tasks in a reinforcement-reward framework where behavior is shaped by its consequence, show lawful relationships in human preference behavior (i.e., approach/avoidance) and have been analogized to “wanting”. However, they take 20–40 min as opposed to short non-operant rating tasks, which can be as short as 3 min and unsupervised, thus more readily applied to internet research. It is unknown if non-operant rati...

The Mediterranean spearfish ( Tetrapturus belone ) is a highly migratory predator, also exploited by commercial and recreational fisheries although its catches are poorly reported. The fishing pressure on this species is currently unknown because catch and landing data are fragmentary. Furthermore, more ecological information (e.g. migratory movements) is needed to establish eventual management measures, and ICCAT has not exam...

Marine protected areas (MPAs), particularly large MPAs, are increasing in number and size around the globe in part to facilitate the conservation of marine megafauna under the assumption that large-scale MPAs better align with vagile life histories; however, this alignment is not well established. Using a global tracking dataset from 36 species across five taxa, chosen to reflect the span of home range size in highly mobile ma...

Underwater visual surveys represent an essential component of coastal marine research and play a crucial role in supporting the management of marine systems. However, logistical and financial considerations can limit the availability of survey data in some systems. While biologging camera tag devices are being attached to an increasing diversity of marine animals to collect behavioral information about the focal species, the a...

The blue marlin ( Makaira nigricans ) is a highly migratory pelagic predator of tropical and subtropical seas. Information on the habitat use of marine species is fundamental to understanding their ecology and population dynamics and is needed to inform responsible management strategies. Using a long‐term satellite tagging data set from The International Game Fish Association Great Marlin Race, we examined habitat use and how...

The temperature stress that pelagic fishes experience can induce physiological and behavioural changes that leave a signature in gene expression profiles. We used a functional genomics approach to identify genes that were up‐ or down‐regulated following thermal stress in the Pacific bluefin tuna. Following the acclimation period, 113, 81 and 196 genes were found to be differentially expressed between the control (20 °C) and co...

This study presents the first data on movement, habitat use and behaviour for yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares in the Atlantic Basin. Six individuals were tracked in the Gulf of Mexico using pop‐up satellite archival tags. Records up to 80 days in length were obtained, providing information on depth and temperature preferences as well as horizontal movements. Thunnus albacares in the Gulf of Mexico showed a strong preference f...