PLOS Science Wednesday: Hi Reddit, my name is Pedro Afonso and I
recently published a paper in PLOS ONE that showed changes in sea
surface temperature can predict whale shark habitat use patterns – Ask
Abstract
Hi Reddit, My name is Pedro Afonso, and I am a senior researcher at the
Institute of Marine Research and MARE - Marine and Environmental
Sciences Centre, both based at the University of the Azores. I recently
published a paper in PLOS ONE entitled “Dynamics of Whale Shark
Occurrence at Their Fringe Oceanic Habitat”, where we investigated the
patterns of occurrence of whale sharks over the mid north Atlantic
ridge. Using 16 years of observational data from a pole-and-line fishery
across the Azores and GAM models, we investigated the spatial and
temporal patterns of whale shark occurrence in relation to oceanographic
features. Our study found that whale shark sightings in this oceanic
region increased sharply in 2008, and that sea surface temperature helps
predict whale shark occurrence in the region. Our research also showed
that the Azores are at a thermal boundary for whale sharks, which can
help explain the post-2007 increase in sightings and has further
implications in the face of climate change. I will be taking questions
at 1pm ET – Ask Me Anything!