Environmental Biology of Fishes

, Volume 82, Issue 3, pp 215–219 | Cite as

New records of neonatal and juvenile whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) from the Indian Ocean

  • D. Rowat
  • M. A. Gore
  • B. B. Baloch
  • Z. Islam
  • E. Ahmad
  • Q. M. Ali
  • R. M. Culloch
  • S. Hameed
  • S. A. Hasnain
  • B. Hussain
  • S. Kiani
  • J. Siddiqui
  • R. F. Ormond
  • N. Henn
  • M. Khan
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The finding of neonatal whale sharks from Northern Indian Ocean waters off of Pakistan and Bangladesh and the description of several very small whale sharks from around Seychelles during the last few years are reported. These findings are discussed in relation to published reports of growth rates, the areas of occurrence and segregation by sex, and the behaviour of very young whale sharks, which are key factors in their conservation management.

Keywords

Behaviour Habitat Philopatry Growth rate Pakistan Bangladesh Seychelles 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

We are very grateful to the Darwin Initiative for supporting the survey to the Balochistan coast, and to Henry Mollet, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, USA, for additional reference material on young whale sharks and comments on this manuscript. Our thanks also to two anonymous reviewers.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007

Authors and Affiliations

  • D. Rowat
    • 1
    • 7
  • M. A. Gore
    • 1
  • B. B. Baloch
    • 2
  • Z. Islam
    • 3
  • E. Ahmad
    • 4
  • Q. M. Ali
    • 5
  • R. M. Culloch
    • 1
  • S. Hameed
    • 6
  • S. A. Hasnain
    • 4
  • B. Hussain
    • 4
  • S. Kiani
    • 6
  • J. Siddiqui
    • 6
  • R. F. Ormond
    • 1
  • N. Henn
    • 7
  • M. Khan
    • 8
  1. 1.University Marine Biological Station MillportMillportScotland
  2. 2.Fisheries DepartmentOrmaraPakistan
  3. 3.Marine Life AllianceComillaBangladesh
  4. 4.WWF-PakistanKarachiPakistan
  5. 5.Marine Reference Collection and Resource CentreUniversity of KarachiKarachiPakistan
  6. 6.Centre of Excellence in Marine BiologyUniversity of KarachiKarachiPakistan
  7. 7.Marine Conservation Society SeychellesMaheSeychelles
  8. 8.Marine Fisheries DepartmentKarachiPakistan

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