Files and links (2)
The influence of human and marine wildlife presence on white shark behaviour in nearshore areas1.42 MB
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
The influence of human and marine wildlife presence on white shark behaviour in nearshore areas
ICES journal of marine science, Vol.82(1), fsae146
22/01/2025
Metrics
2 File views/ downloads
26 Record Views
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Abstract
The co-occurrence of people and sharks within nearshore areas raises concerns about human safety. Unprovoked shark bites are one of the most renowned negative human–wildlife encounters. White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are implicated in most fatal unprovoked shark bites globally, but there is limited knowledge of white shark behaviour in the presence of people. We used drone-based methods to analyse human–shark and wildlife–shark interactions. We found a higher probability of a white shark interaction with a nearby person (0.81) in comparison to an animal (0.65). Fishers had the highest, and swimmers had the lowest probability of a white shark interaction. White sharks exhibited investigative behaviour in most interactions, with directional changes towards a nearby person or animal in 85.9% and 94.0% of interactions, respectively. There was a higher probability for white sharks to increase their speed towards animals (0.16) than people (0.01). The likelihood of white sharks altering their speed or direction when people were present depended on human activity. Overall, our study highlighted the value of drone technology in providing insights into white shark behaviour. It also supported the contention that, while people and white sharks coexist within nearshore areas, the probability of a negative human–wildlife encounter remains low.
Details
- Title
- The influence of human and marine wildlife presence on white shark behaviour in nearshore areas
- Creators
- Kim I Monteforte - Southern Cross UniversityPaul A Butcher - Southern Cross UniversityStephen G Morris - NSWDPIWJames P Tucker - Southern Cross UniversityKingsley J Griffin - The University of Western AustraliaBrendan P Kelaher - Southern Cross University
- Contributors
- Howard Browman (Editor) - Austevoll Research Station (Norway, Storebo)
- Publication Details
- ICES journal of marine science, Vol.82(1), fsae146
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press on behalf of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.; OXFORD
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- This research was made possible through funding from the NSW Government’s Shark Management Program and Southern Cross University. Analyses of data were further supported by a Seaworld Research and Rescue Foundation Inc. grant (SWR/5/2020) to B.P.K. and P.A.B.
- Identifiers
- 991013231513702368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2024.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article