Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: Offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

F R A Jaine; C A Rohner; S J Weeks; L I E Couturier; M B Bennett; Kathy A Townsend; A J Richardson

doi:10.3354/meps10910

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Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: Offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: Offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

F R A Jaine, C A Rohner, S J Weeks, L I E Couturier, M B Bennett, Kathy A Townsend and A J Richardson

Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol.510, pp.73-86

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10910

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Abstract

East Australian Current

Manta alfredi

movements

oceanography

random walk

satellite tracking

state-space analysis

Manta rays (Manta spp.) are plankton-feeding elasmobranchs classified as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species. Despite increasing public and scientific interest in manta rays, major knowledge gaps concerning their movement ecology and dispersal capabilities remain. Here, we used pop-off satellite-linked archival transmitting tags to examine the horizontal movements and habitat use patterns of reef manta rays (M. alfredi) departing Lady Elliot Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Tagged individuals moved across a latitudinal range of 1035 km, travelling up to 2441 km in 118 d, diving down to 294.5 m and venturing up to 155 km off the continental shelf. Using random walk simulations, we showed that manta rays spent significantly more time in an offshore region characterised by the mesoscale cyclonic Capricorn Eddy than would be expected by chance. A behaviour-switching state-space model suggested this area to be an important foraging ground for M. alfredi off eastern Australia. We document the movements of 1 individual using offshore waters between 2 known aggregation regions off eastern Australia. Reef manta rays thus not only occupy inshore continental shelf and shelf-edge waters but also use offshore environments to exploit productive hotspots and travel long distances. Our findings highlight the need to better understand their movement ecology for effective management. © The authors 2014.

Details

Title: Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: Offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry
Authors: F R A Jaine (Author) - University of Queensland
C A Rohner (Author) - University of Queensland
S J Weeks (Author) - University of Queensland
L I E Couturier (Author) - University of Queensland
M B Bennett (Author) - University of Queensland
Kathy A Townsend (Author) - University of Queensland
A J Richardson (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol.510, pp.73-86
Publisher: Inter-Research
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.3354/meps10910
ISSN: 0171-8630
Copyright note: Copyright © The authors 2014. Open Access under Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. Use, distribution and reproduction are unrestricted. Authors and original publication must be credited.
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450695502621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology; Marine & Freshwater Biology; Oceanography

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