ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2011 Jan 27;6(1):e16597. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016597.
Shark tourism has become increasingly popular, but remains controversial because of major concerns originating from the need of tour operators to use bait or chum to reliably attract sharks. We used direct underwater sampling to document changes in bull shark Carcharhinus leucas relative abundance at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a shark feeding site in Fiji, and the reproductive cycle of the species in Fijian waters. Between 2003 and 2009, the total number of C. leucas counted on each day ranged from 0 to 40. Whereas the number of C. leucas counted at the feeding site increased over the years, shark numbers decreased over the course of a calendar year with fewest animals counted in November. Externally visible reproductive status information indicates that the species' seasonal departure from the feeding site may be related to reproductive activity.
鲨鱼旅游越来越受欢迎，但由于旅游运营商需要使用诱饵或鱼饵来可靠地吸引鲨鱼，因此仍然存在争议。我们使用直接水下采样来记录斐济鲨鱼礁海洋保护区鲨鱼喂食点的牛鲨相对丰度的变化，以及该物种在斐济水域的繁殖周期。在 2003 年至 2009 年期间，每天计数的 Carcharhinus leucas 总数从 0 到 40 不等。尽管在喂食点计数的 C. leucas 数量逐年增加，但在一个日历年中鲨鱼数量减少，11 月计数的动物最少。外部可见的生殖状态信息表明，该物种季节性离开喂食点可能与生殖活动有关。
