Tetiaroa Society Ecostation

16 Jul, 03 PM - 26 Jul, 01 PM

Coastal nurseries are critical for the development of juvenile sharks, such as blacktip (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and sicklefin lemon sharks (Negaprion acutidens), which are the most common shark species in the waters of French Polynesia. In the pristine lagoon of Tetiaroa, several nurseries have been previously identified during field missions conducted by CRIOBE (Centre de Recherche Insulaire et Observatoire de lEnvironnement/EPHE Perpignan, France). However, little is known about the abundance and spatial and trophic ecology of the shark species using these nurseries. Thus, in August 2014, we initiated a pilot research project in partnership with the UC Berkeley Gump Station, CRIOBE, and the Tetiaroa Society aimed at understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of juvenile reef shark species in their nursery habitats of Tetiaroa. During our pilot season we focused on achieving our objective through a combination of drone transects and underwater videography with unbaited stationary cameras. We continued this work in 2015, through the use of baited remote underwater video (BRUV) and a drone surveys, aimed at describing elasmobranch communities both inside the atoll and around the perimeter of the outer reef. In 2016, we expanded on this work, by using stereo-BRUVs in a similar study of the lagoon, which enabled us to characterize the age structures of the elasmobrachs within Tetiaroa, Furthermore, we compared how theses emerging technologies compare to traditional gears, by simulatenously conducting a marke-recapture study of sickelfin lemons and blacktips using longlines. In 2017 we furthered this work by using a combination of traditional cameras as well as full-spherical cameras in order to assess the detection probability of each survey method. This year we propose to continue our long term BRUV monitoring, which will contribute to our understanding on how the elasmobranch community within Tetiaroa has changed (both spatially and temporally), and how these dynamics may change under future conditions (i.e. from the impacts of climate change). For this work we will need to file a protocole d'accueil with the ecostation

Visit #56820 @Tetiaroa Society Ecostation

Approved

Under Project # 40672 | Research

INVESTIGATING THE ECOLOGY OF REEF SHARKS IN TETIAROA

faculty - University of Washington

Reservation Members(s)

James Kilfoil Jul 16 - 26, 2018 (11 days)

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Ecostation Rate 1 Jul 16 - 26, 2018