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Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean

Adolphe Debrot, Ramon de Leon, Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo, H. W. Eric Meesters

Caribbean Journal of Science, Volume: 47, Issue: 2-3, Pages: 344 - 399

Swansea University Author: Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo

Abstract

Records of whale sharks in the Caribbean are relatively sparse. Here we document 24 records of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus Smith 1882) for the Dutch Caribbean, four for the windward islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten, and twenty for the southern Caribbean leeward islands of Aruba, Cura...

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Published in: Caribbean Journal of Science
Published: 2013
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa21278
first_indexed 2015-05-10T02:10:17Z
last_indexed 2018-02-09T04:58:39Z
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spelling 2015-05-09T22:50:16.9937722 v2 21278 2015-05-09 Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319 0000-0003-4693-7221 Nicole Esteban Nicole Esteban true false 2015-05-09 BGPS Records of whale sharks in the Caribbean are relatively sparse. Here we document 24 records of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus Smith 1882) for the Dutch Caribbean, four for the windward islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten, and twenty for the southern Caribbean leeward islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The results suggest a higher abundance of whale sharks in the southern, leeward part of the Dutch Caribbean, likely associated with seasonal upwelling-driven productivity known for the southeastern Caribbean area. A bimodal seasonal pattern as documented for Venezuela was not as pronounced in our findings for the Leeward Dutch Caribbean and whale sharks were recorded in 9 months of the year. In the Windward Dutch Caribbean all (4) records so far were for the winter months of December-February. Most records involved large and solitary animals in contrast to areas elsewhere suspected of being nursery habitat. According to local sources, whale sharks were most often associated with feeding tunas and sea surface swarms of crab megalopae. Journal Article Caribbean Journal of Science 47 2-3 344 399 Whale shark, Rhincodon typus, crab megalopae swarms, tuna schools, Dutch Caribbean 31 12 2013 2013-12-31 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University 2015-05-09T22:50:16.9937722 2015-05-09T22:47:35.2176242 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Adolphe Debrot 1 Ramon de Leon 2 Nicole Esteban 0000-0003-4693-7221 3 H. W. Eric Meesters 4
title Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
spellingShingle Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
Nicole Esteban
title_short Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
title_full Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
title_fullStr Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
title_full_unstemmed Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
title_sort Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean
author_id_str_mv fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319
author_id_fullname_str_mv fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319_***_Nicole Esteban
author Nicole Esteban
author2 Adolphe Debrot
Ramon de Leon
Nicole Esteban
H. W. Eric Meesters
format Journal article
container_title Caribbean Journal of Science
container_volume 47
container_issue 2-3
container_start_page 344
publishDate 2013
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description Records of whale sharks in the Caribbean are relatively sparse. Here we document 24 records of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus Smith 1882) for the Dutch Caribbean, four for the windward islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten, and twenty for the southern Caribbean leeward islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The results suggest a higher abundance of whale sharks in the southern, leeward part of the Dutch Caribbean, likely associated with seasonal upwelling-driven productivity known for the southeastern Caribbean area. A bimodal seasonal pattern as documented for Venezuela was not as pronounced in our findings for the Leeward Dutch Caribbean and whale sharks were recorded in 9 months of the year. In the Windward Dutch Caribbean all (4) records so far were for the winter months of December-February. Most records involved large and solitary animals in contrast to areas elsewhere suspected of being nursery habitat. According to local sources, whale sharks were most often associated with feeding tunas and sea surface swarms of crab megalopae.
published_date 2013-12-31T18:45:50Z
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score 11.047609

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