Tracking sharks without teeth: a non-invasive rigid tag attachment for large predatory sharks

Chapple, T.K., Gleiss, A.C., Jewell, O.J.D., Wikelski, M. and Block, B.A. (2015) Tracking sharks without teeth: a non-invasive rigid tag attachment for large predatory sharks. Animal Biotelemetry, 3 (1).

Abstract

Many marine species are difficult to study because components of their lifecycles occur solely or partially outside of the observable realm of researchers. Advances in biologging tags have begun to give us glimpses into these unobservable states. However, many of these tags require rigid attachment to animals, which normally requires catching and restraining the animals. These methods become prohibitive with large, dangerous, or rare species, such as large predatory sharks, and can have significant consequences for individual survival and behavior. Therefore, there is a need for methods and hardware to non-invasively and rigidly attach biologging tags to large predatory sharks that presents limited effects on the animals and researchers. Here we test a clamp tag and methods to non-invasively and rigidly attach biologging tags to white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in Gansbaai, South Africa.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publisher:	BioMed Central
Copyright:	© Chapple et al. 2015
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/32499

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