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Habitat suitability and environmental factors affecting whale shark (Rhincodon typus) aggregations in the Mexican Caribbean

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Abstract

The Mexican Caribbean is considered one of the most important sites for whale shark aggregations. Whale shark groups of over 300 individuals have been recorded frequently. There is little published information regarding the ecology of the whale shark in Mexico, and the role that the Mexican Caribbean plays as habitat for this species. This area has been recognized as important for the whale shark and therefore it is necessary to determine the environmental factors that shape the distribution of these animals. The aim of this study was to identify key environmental factors associated with whale shark feeding aggregations and to determine the patterns in habitat suitability for whale sharks in the Mexican Caribbean through the modeling approach of maximum entropy. Whale shark data obtained for this study included 250 records during April to September (2008–2012). The MaxEnt model performed better than random and produced an area under the curve (AUC) score of 0.946. Primary productivity and sea surface temperature were the variables most strongly related to whale shark sightings. The model predicted a high suitability in areas located to the north of Isla Contoy and the offshore area east of Isla Contoy named “Afuera” (>0.75), with medium suitability north of Cabo Catoche (>0.5) and lower suitability for the northeast of Cabo Catoche (<0.5). The habitat suitability maps also indicated seasonal variations, showing a higher prediction of whale shark sightings during the rainy season (June to October), when primary productivity is higher in the area.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by MEX-US (University of California-CONACYT) in the project “Determination of movement, habitat use, filtration mechanics and diet/food preference of manta rays off the Yucatan peninsula”. Also thanks to CONACYT and PIFI- IPN for fellowships to AHD, and Instituto Politécnico Nacional (COFAA, EDI) granted to FGM. Thank to MVZ Francisco Remolina Suárez, Director Reserva de la Biosfera Tiburón Ballena to develop this project in the protected area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR), Av. IPN s/n. Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, BCS, Mexico

    Ana Hacohen-Domené & Felipe Galván-Magaña

  2. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste - CONACYT, Avenida IPN s/n, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23096, México

    Raúl O. Martínez-Rincón

  3. Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del IPN, México, Mexico

    Natalí Cárdenas-Palomo

  4. Ch’ooj Ajauil AC, Av. Xelha N° 1-311, SM 28, Cancún, Quintana Roo, 77500, México

    Rafael de la Parra-Venegas & Beatriz Galván-Pastoriza

  5. Georgia Aquarium Research Center, 225 Baker Street NW, Atlanta, GA, 30313, USA

    Alistair D. M. Dove

Authors
  1. Ana Hacohen-Domené
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  2. Raúl O. Martínez-Rincón
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  3. Felipe Galván-Magaña
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Correspondence to Felipe Galván-Magaña.

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Hacohen-Domené, A., Martínez-Rincón, R.O., Galván-Magaña, F. et al. Habitat suitability and environmental factors affecting whale shark (Rhincodon typus) aggregations in the Mexican Caribbean. Environ Biol Fish 98, 1953–1964 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0413-5

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