Companions and Casual Acquaintances: The Nature of Associations Among Bull Sharks at a Shark Feeding Site in Fiji - June 2021 - Thibaut Bouveroux

Provisioning activities in wildlife tourism often lead to short-term animal aggregations during the feeding events. However, the presence of groups does not necessarily mean that individuals interact among each other and form social networks.

At the Shark Reef Marine Reserve in Fiji, several dozen bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) regularly visit a site, where direct feeding is conducted during tourism driven shark dives.

On 3,063 shark feeding dives between 2003 and 2016, we visually confirmed the presence of 91 individual bull sharks based on external and long-lasting identification markings.

We measured the intensity of associations between pairs of individuals by calculating the Simple Ratio Index (SRI) and calculated Generalized Affiliation Indices (GAIs) to distinguish true associations between dyads from structural predictor factors.

Although the resulting mean SRIs were low, ranging from 0.01 to 0.12 (SRImean = 0.06; mean SRImax = 0.21), preferred long-term companionships were observed between individuals.

Avoidances were also observed within pairs of individuals during the second half of the study. The best fitting model describing the temporal association patterns of bull sharks revealed a social structure which is characterized by preferred companionships and casual acquaintances.

Our results suggest that the aggregation resulting from direct feeding has served to facilitate the development of social associations.

Keywords: social bonds, co-occurrence, insular marine predators, fission-fusion, central place foragers, shark feeding

Companions and Casual Acquaintances The Nature of Associations Among Bull Sharks at a Shark Feeding Site in Fiji Thibaut Bouveroux_compressed Download

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.678074/full

Throughout the months of April and November every year, you have the opportunity to help celebrate and record Fiji’s amazing coral reef biodiversity, show you care about our world’s delicate coral reef systems, and have fun, by taking part in the FIJI-WIDE SHARK COUNT!

Easy to do, this is suitable for visitors and locals alike, whether you like to fish, snorkel, or SCUBA dive. We hope that tourists, school children, scientists and all people with an interest in the marine environment will take to the reefs with us to search for the Sharks of Fiji!

The Great Fiji Shark Count will be held across Fiji every April and November every year.

You can do a single count, or take part as many times as you like during that month, so that you cover different reefs. All data will be gratefully accepted!

So, see your resort, watersports operator or travel agent, get your Shark identification materials and dive into the beautiful blue waters of Fiji, to be a part of history!