Abstract
Effects of environmental factors on frequency and success rate of 2,546 natural predatory attacks by white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, on Cape fur seals, Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, were studied over an 8-year period at Seal Island, South Africa. Attacks occurred primarily during winter months (June–August). Attack frequency increased significantly during northerly winds, during high tides, and within 400 m of the island, but predatory success rate decreased with proximity to the island. Attacks occurred over a depth range of 5–31 m, with significantly more occurring at depths of 26–30 m. Attack frequency and success rate increased significantly at low light levels. These results are compared with published effects of environmental factors on white shark predation frequency at the Farallon Islands, California, and discussed in terms of the Predation Cycle. Suggestions for future work at this site are offered.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to Herman Oosthuizen and South Africa's Marine and Coastal Zone Management for permitting us to do this work. For their invaluable assistance and ongoing support both in and out of the field, we especially thank R. Lawrence, M. Fallows and M. Bright. Thanks to all volunteer research assistants during the study period; especially C. Peyer, C. Meyers, D. Washington, D. Atagöksel, G. Sure, C. Voltaire, B. Jasinsky, B. Kilbride, A. Currie, G. Gurman, K. Hodgson, M. Hawksworth, J. Northey, B. Bray, H. Brown, B. Lindl, C. Black, B. Gonzalez, R. Flores, A. Barron, G. Markham, J.N. & D. Allinson, K. & G. Foster. We thank our corporate sponsors, YSI, Oregon Scientific, Li-Cor Biosciences, and Ben Meadows for generous donation of environmental sensor equipment. Thank you to Ruth Farre, Sanette Gildenhuys and the South African Navy: Hydrographic Office via the Institute for Maritime Technology for providing hydrographical data. Thank you to NSRI for permitting us to erect a weather station on their facility. We thank J.N. Allinson Associates, Inc. for supplying infrared thermography equipment. Thanks to the SeaStar foundation for financial support. We thank M. Farber and E. Keith of Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center for technical advice and encouragement; we also thank E. Taylor of the UBC Fish Museum, the Zoology Department at University of British Columbia, and the Pew Institute for Ocean Science, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami for continued support. For their technical and statistical assistance, special thanks to J. Serafy and E. Babcock. Thanks to our families for their ongoing care and perpetual support, especially A.E. Martin, who also prepared the figures. Thanks also to A.P. Klimley, whose review enabled us to strengthen and shorten this paper.
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Hammerschlag, N., Martin, R. & Fallows, C. Effects of environmental conditions on predator–prey interactions between white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) at Seal Island, South Africa. Environ Biol Fish 76, 341–350 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9038-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9038-z