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MEPS 743:47-63 (2024)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14658

High residency of a Critically Endangered hammerhead shark to a small area: implications for marine protected area management and design

Maria A. Herrera1, Diego Cardeñosa2,*, Yannis P. Papastamatiou3, Jeremy Vaudo1, Christian Bermúdez-Rivas4, Mahmood Shivji1

1Guy Harvey Research Institute & Save our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, Florida 33004-3078, USA
2Global Forensics & Justice Center, Florida International University, North Miami, Florida 33181, USA
3Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, Florida 33181, USA
4Centro de Investigaciones Oceanográficas e Hidrográficas del Pacífico, Dirección General Marítima (DIMAR), Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Hammerhead sharks are among the most iconic and threatened shark species. Research has focused on the large hammerhead species, with relatively little work conducted on their smaller-bodied relatives, which face many of the same threats. One such species, the scalloped bonnethead Sphyrna corona, is assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List; however, there is no knowledge about its movements, which can compromise management and conservation efforts. Here, we used acoustic telemetry to describe the spatiotemporal movements of scalloped bonnetheads inside a national park’s marine protected area along the Colombian Pacific coast, where this species still occurs in high numbers. The movements of 25 adult sharks were monitored over a 1.4 km2 area for up to ~10 mo between 2022 and 2023. Scalloped bonnetheads exhibited high residency to the area (RImax = 0.78 ± 0.18, RImin = 0.59 ± 0.32, ±SD), with most sharks present during the majority of their monitoring period. Shark movements were influenced by tides and diel period, and the space sharks used was generally small (mean 50% utilization distribution: 0.3 ± 0.2 km2), with most of their movements detected by 2 (out of 5) receivers separated by less than 2 km. These results indicate that scalloped bonnetheads spend a large amount of time in a small area, suggesting that even a spatially limited no-take zone in the National Natural Park is likely to benefit the conservation of this species. This study provides the first insights into the movement behavior of the scalloped bonnethead, with important information for its protection and management.


KEY WORDS: Spatial ecology · Acoustic telemetry · Residency · Movement ecology


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Cite this article as: Herrera MA, Cardeñosa D, Papastamatiou YP, Vaudo J, Bermúdez-Rivas C, Shivji M (2024) High residency of a Critically Endangered hammerhead shark to a small area: implications for marine protected area management and design. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 743:47-63. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14658

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