Whale sharks as oceanic nurseries for Golden Trevally

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Sheaves, M.;Mattone, C.;Barnett, A.;Abrantes, K.;Bradley, M.;Sheaves, A.;Sheaves, J.;Waltham, N.J.
Ali Sheaves
Abstract

The Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, is a large predatory fish with an extremely broad tropical Indo-Pacific distribution that crosses many biogeographical boundaries. Both published information and freely available imagery suggest that small juvenile G. speciosus are often associated with whale sharks, Rhincodon typus; an association that could explain the unusually widespread distribution of G. speciosus, and suggests a novel nursery relationship. The possibility of such an association has the potential to reshape our understanding of the ecological roles played by long-range migrants such as R. typus and other megafauna, our understanding of the full extent of their conservation value, and how we manage both members of the relationship.

Journal

Pacific Conservation Biology

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Volume

30

ISBN/ISSN

2204-4604

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Issue

1

Pages Count

5

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Publisher

CSIRO Publishing

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Publisher Location

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Date

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EISSN

N/A

DOI

10.1071/PC23004