Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-7zcd7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-11T04:43:11.216Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Shark scavenging and predation on cetaceans at Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2012

Hugo Bornatowski ,
Leonardo L. Wedekin ,
Michael R. Heithaus ,
Milton César C. Marcondes  and
Marcos R. Rossi-Santos
Hugo Bornatowski*
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós Graduação em Zoologia Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19020, CEP 81531-980 Curitiba, PR, Brasil GPIc–Grupo de Pesquisas em Ictiofauna, Museu de História Natural Capão da Imbuia, Rua Prof. Benedito Conceição, 407, 82810-080, Curitiba, PR, Brasil
Leonardo L. Wedekin
Affiliation:
Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Rua Barão do Rio Branco, 26, Caravelas, Bahia 45900-000, Brasil
Michael R. Heithaus
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151st, North Miami, Florida 33181, USA
Milton César C. Marcondes
Affiliation:
Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Rua Barão do Rio Branco, 26, Caravelas, Bahia 45900-000, Brasil
Marcos R. Rossi-Santos
Affiliation:
Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Rua Barão do Rio Branco, 26, Caravelas, Bahia 45900-000, Brasil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: H. Bornatowski, Programa de Pós Graduação em Zoologia Universidade, Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19020, CEP 81531-980 Curitiba, PR, Brasil email: anequim.bio@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although it is largely assumed that shark predation and predation risk are unimportant to large cetaceans, whales can make up large portions of the diets of some shark species. We investigated interactions between sharks and cetaceans in the Abrolhos Bank (16°40′ to 19°40′S), off the eastern coast of Brazil, including scavenging and predation attempts on living humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). In order to determine the frequency of shark bites on cetaceans, both living and postmortem, we used carcasses discovered along the coast of Abrolhos Bank between 2001 and 2010 and photographs of living cetaceans during systematic and opportunistic visual surveys from 2004 to 2009. We analysed a total of 221 cetacean carcasses, of which 150 (67.8%) were humpback whales. Large sharks had fed on 22.3% (35 of 150) of humpback whales carcasses, and 20.8% (10 of 48) of carcasses of other species. Only three living humpback whales (<1%) had bite scars from large sharks, suggesting that they at least occasionally target living humpbacks. Cookiecutter shark bite marks also were observed on both dead and living cetaceans, with numerous living humpbacks showing multiple bites. The abundance of humpback whale carcasses available over the Abrolhos Bank, mainly during the humpback breeding season, may be an important component of shark diets seasonally. Further work is needed to better understand the frequency of shark attacks on mysticetes, potential costs of sublethal injuries, and importance of whales to shark diets.

Keywords

interactionsCarcharhinidaecookiecutter sharkMegaptera novaeangliaemysticetesAbrolhos Bank

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 8: Marine Mammals , December 2012 , pp. 1767 - 1772
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Andriolo, A., Kinas, P., Engel, M.H., Martins, C.C.A. and Rufino, A.M. (2010) Humpback whales within the Brazilian breeding ground: distribution and size estimate. Endangered Species Research 11, 233–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornatowski, H., Robert, M.C. and Costa, L. (2007) Data on the food of juvenile tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur) (Elasmobranchii, Carcharhinidae), from southern Brazil. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 2, 10–13.Google Scholar
Brown, A.C., Lee, D.E., Bradley, R.W. and Anderson, S. (2010) Dynamics of white shark predation on pinnipeds in California: effects of prey abundance. Copeia 2010, 232–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, F.G., Kanwisher, J.W., Brazier, O., Gabrielson, G., Casey, J.G. and Pratt, H.L. (1982) Temperature and activities of a white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Copeia 1982, 254–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corkeron, P.J. and Connor, R.C. (1999) Why do baleen whales migrate? Marine Mammal Science 15, 1228–1245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunha, C.M. and Gonzalez, M.B.M. (2000) Differentiation of the mutilation of Isistius brasiliensis (Quoy e Gaimard, 1824) and Squaliolus laticaudus Smith e Radcliffe, 1912 (Chondrichthyes, Squalidae) through the morphologic analysis of the mouth. Publicações Avulsas do Instituto Pau Brasil 3, 31–39.Google Scholar
Dicken, M.L. (2008) First observations of young of the year and juvenile great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) scavenging from a whale carcass. Marine and Freshwater Research 59, 596–602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dudley, S.F.J., Anderson-Reade, M.D., Thompson, G.S. and McMullen, P.B. (2000) Concurrent scavenging off a whale carcass by great white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, and tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier. Fishery Bulletin 98, 646–649.Google Scholar
Dutra, G.F., Allen, G.R., Werner, T. and McKenna, S.A. (2006) A rapid marine biodiversity assessment of the Abrolhos Bank, Bahia, Brazil. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 38. Washington, DC: Conservation International.Google Scholar
Engel, M.H. and Martin, A.R. (2009) Feeding grounds of the western South Atlantic humpback whale population. Marine Mammal Science 25, 964–969.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, K., Morrice, M.G., Hindell, M.A. and Thiele, D. (2002) Three mass strandings of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in southern Australian waters. Marine Mammal Science 18, 622–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzpatrick, B., Meekan, M. and Richards, A. (2006) Shark attacks on a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Bulletin of Marine Science 78, 397–402.Google Scholar
Gasparini, J.L. and Sazima, I. (1996) A stranded melon-headed whale, Peponocephala electra, in southeastern Brazil, with comments on wounds from the cookiecutter shark, Isistius brasiliensis. Marine Mammal Science 12, 308–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heithaus, M.R. (2001a) Predator–prey and competitive interactions between sharks (order Selachii) and dolphins (suborder Odontoceti): a review. Journal of Zoology 253, 53–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heithaus, M.R. (2001b) Shark attacks on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Shark Bay, Western Australia: attack rate, bite scar frequencies, and attack seasonality. Marine Mammal Science 17, 526–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heithaus, M.R. and Dill, L.M. (2006) Does tiger shark predation risk influence foraging habitat use by bottlenose dolphins at multiple spatial scales? Oikos 114, 257–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IWC (1998) Annex G—Report of the sub-committee on comprehensive assessment of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales. Report of the International Whaling Commission 48, 170–182.Google Scholar
Lodi, L. (1992) Uma história da caça à baleia. Ciência Hoje 14, 78–83.Google Scholar
Long, D.J. and Jones, R.E. (1996) White shark predation and scavenging on cetaceans in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. In Klimley, A.P. and Ainley, D.G. (eds) Great white sharks: the biology of Carcharodon carcharias. New York: Academic Press, pp. 293–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowry, D., Castro, A.L.F., Mara, K., Whitenack, L.B., Delius, B., Burgess, G.H. and Motta, P. (2009) Determining shark size from forensic analysis of bite damage. Marine Biology 156, 2483–2492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucas, Z. and Stobo, W.T. (2000) Shark-inflicted mortality on a population of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) at Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Journal of Zoology 252, 405–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, A.D. and Bennett, M.B. (2010) The frequency and effect of shark-inflicted bite injuries to the reef manta ray Manta alfredi. African Journal of Marine Science 32, 573–580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazzuca, L., Atkinson, S. and Nitta, E. (1998) Deaths and entanglements of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, in the main Hawaiian islands, 1972–1996. Pacific Science 52, 1–13.Google Scholar
McSweeney, D.J., Baird, R.W. and Mahaffy, S.D. (2007) Site fidelity, associations and movements of Cuvier's (Ziphius cavirostris) and Blainville's (Mesoplodon densirostris) beaked whales off the island of Hawai‘i. Marine Mammal Science 23, 666–687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meirelles, A.C.O., Monteiro-Neto, C., Martins, A.M.A., Costa, A.F., Barros, H.M.D.R. and Alves, M.D.O. (2009) Cetacean strandings on the coast of Ceará, north-eastern Brazil (1992–2005). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morete, M.E., Bisi, T.L., Pace III, R.M. and Rosso, S. (2008) Fluctuating abundance of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a calving ground off coastal Brazil. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 88, 1229–1235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moura, R.L. and Francini-Filho, R.B. (2006) Reef and shore fishes of the Abrolhos Region, Brazil. In Dutra, G.F., Allen, G.R., Werner, T. and McKenna, S.A. (eds) A rapid marine biodiversity assessment of the Abrolhos Bank, Bahia, Brazil. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 38. Washington, DC: Conservation International, pp. 40–55.Google Scholar
Naessig, P. and Lanyon, J.M. (2004) Levels and probable origin of predatory scarring on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in east Australian waters. Wildlife Research 31, 163–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papastamatiou, Y.P., Wetherbee, B.M., Sullivan, J.O., Goodmanlowe, G.D. and Lowe, C.G. (2010) Foraging ecology of cookiecutter sharks (Isistius brasiliensis) on pelagic fishes in Hawaii, inferred from prey bite wounds. Environmental Biology of Fishes 88, 361–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paterson, R.A., Quayle, C.J. and van Dyke, S.M. (1993) A humpback whale calf and two sub adult dense-beaked whales recently stranded in Southern Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 33, 219–297.Google Scholar
Pretto, D.J., Andrade, M.C.M., Oliveira, J.M. and Oliveira, M.G.A. (2009) First record of a humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781), stranding in Pará State, northern coast of Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 69, 1207–1208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Randall, J.E. (1992) Review of the biology of the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 43, 21–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossi-Santos, M.R., Wedekin, L.L. and Sousa-Lima, R.S. (2006) Distribution and habitat use of small cetaceans off Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 5, 23–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, M.C.O. and Gadig, O.B.F. (2009) Evidence of a failed predation attempt on a Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis, by a bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, in Brazilian waters. Arquivos de Ciências do Mar 43, 93–98.Google Scholar
Silva, J.M., Silva, F.J.D.L., Sazima, C. and Sazima, I. (2007) Trophic relationships of the spinner dolphin at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, SW Atlantic. Scientia Marina 71, 505–511.Google Scholar
Simpfendorfer, C.A., Goodreid, A.B. and McAuley, R.B. (2001) Size, sex and geographic variation in the diet of the tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, from Western Australian waters. Environmental Biology of Fishes 61, 37–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Souto, L.R.A., Abrão-Oliveira, J.G.A., Nunes, J.A.C.C., Maia-Nogueira, R. and Sampaio, C.L. S. (2007) Análise das mordidas de tubarões-charuto, Isistius spp. (Squaliformes: Dalatiidae) em cetáceos (Mammalia: Cetacea) no litoral da Bahia, Nordeste do Brasil. Biotemas 20, 19–25.Google Scholar
Wedekin, L.L., Neves, M.C., Marcondes, M.C.C., Baracho, C., Rossi-Santos, M.R., Engel, M.H. and Simões-Lopes, P.C. (2010) Site fidelity and movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the Brazilian breeding ground, southwestern Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science 26, 787–802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wirsing, A.J., Heithaus, M.R. and Dill, L.M. (2007) Can measures of prey availability improve our ability to predict the abundance of large marine predators? Oecologia 153, 563–568.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wirsing, A.J., Heithaus, M.R., Frid, A. and Dill, L.M. (2008) Seascapes of fear: evaluating sublethal predator effects experienced and generated by marine mammals. Marine Mammal Science 24, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar