ABSTRACT
The ecotouristic approach to sharks and rays has developed rapidly in the last 20 years. We studied three species in Gorgona Island from 427 dives ( 2004-2011), including 866 photographs and videos. There was at least one sighting in 34.4% of the dives, and 25.0% of the photos and videos were useful for identification of individuals. T. obesus was seen in all months of the year, and its presence was correlated with depths of 20-30m (66.9%), sandy-rocky bottoms (79.8%), and western (61.2%) and south (52.9%) areas of the island. The southern area had groups of up to 9 individuals but abundance was not correlated with zone, depth, bottom type or temperature. R. typus and M. birostris were mainly seen at 28- 33oC, in the north, where plankton was more abundant. We identified individually five whale sharks, 15 manta rays and 38 whitetip sharks, 9 of which (one ray and 8 whitetip sharks) were recaptured in different months and years. Most of recaptured whitetip sharks were alone (63.06%), resting (49.37%) and on the bottom (82.91%) in the same area of the photographic capture, suggesting a high philopatry of this species on the island; however, the recapture of three individuals in different zones indicate connectivity between of this species in the west, south and north zones. The Gorgona Island is an important area for breeding and growth of T. obesus, with presence of gravid females and births. It is also a seasonal passage area for R. typus and M. birostris, which occur most frequently between March and September, but do not form aggregations around the island. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 1): 329-342. Epub 2014 February 01.
Se evaluó el uso de hábitat del aletiblanco Triaenodon obesus, la mantaraya Manta birostris y el tiburón ballena Rhincodon typus en la Isla Gorgona, a partir de 427 inmersiones de buceo y del análisis de 866 fotografías y videos. T. obesus se observó a lo largo del año, y su presencia se correlacionó con profundidades entre 20 y 30m (66.9%), fondos areno-rocosos (79.8%) y las zonas occidental (61.2%) y sur (52.9%), con mayores congregaciones en esta última zona. R. typus y M. birostris se avistaron entre 28 y 33oC y su presencia se correlacionó con la zona norte de la isla, área de mayor abundancia de zoo e ictioplancton. Se identificaron 5 tiburones ballena, 15 mantarrayas y 38 aletiblancos, 9 de los cuales fueron recapturados en años diferentes. La mayoría de los aletiblancos recapturados fueron observados solos, en reposo y sobre el fondo y en la misma zona, sugiriendo alta filopatría; sin embargo, la recaptura de tres individuos en zonas diferentes, indican conectividad de la especie en la isla. Gorgona es un área importante para la reproducción y crecimiento del aletiblanco, y un área de paso para el tiburón ballena y la mantarraya, los cuales se observan con mayor frecuencia entre marzo y septiembre, pero no forman agregaciones.