Life after death: behaviour of multiple shark species scavenging a whale carcass
J. S. E. Lea
A C , R. Daly B , C. Leon A , C. A. K. Daly B and C. R. Clarke A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Marine Research Facility, PO Box 10646, Jeddah, 21443, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
B Save Our Seas Foundation – D’Arros Research Centre (SOSF-DRC), Rue Philippe Plantamour 20, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland.
C Corresponding author. Email: james@eatonlea.co.uk
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(2) 302-306 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18157
Submitted: 11 April 2018 Accepted: 16 June 2018 Published: 10 September 2018
Abstract
A drone was used to study the richness and behaviour of scavengers attracted to the carcass of a sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) in Seychelles, Western Indian Ocean. Over 30 sharks of 3 species (tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, bull shark Carcharhinus leucas and tawny nurse shark Nebrius ferrugineus) were recorded scavenging on the carcass. Tiger sharks dominated the scavenging, but with no evidence of agonistic behaviours or hierarchy, and may have facilitated scavenging by other species. Drone use allowed the analysis of such behaviours without observer influence, providing new insights into communal scavenging events.
Additional keywords: drone, elasmobranch, foraging, social, sperm whale.
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